A weekly change

Schools starting to change to four day weeks

graphic+by+Victoria+Van

graphic by Victoria Van

Story by Peyton Sims, staff writer

It’s 12:30 in the morning, and you still have an uncountable amount of homework and tests to study for. You desire a weekend where you have no plans, and you can receive a healthy amount of sleep. Schools across America are starting to alter their schedule from a school week of Monday–Friday to Monday–Thursday to benefit students’ health.

Schools have turned to four-day weeks to help with school funding of utility expenses, bus fuel, substitute pay, breakfast and lunch expenses, as well as the overall wear and tear on equipment and technology. Some schools struggle with financial problems, so taking away one school day can largely benefit them.

This change can also grant students more time for their school work and gives them healthier sleeping routines. 560 districts in 25 states have already changed to four-day weeks, so it’s predicted that, in the future, more schools will follow suit.

A majority of schools have a certain amount of hours students are required to attend, not days. This means students will have longer days to reach the required hours, since they will attend one less day. Multiple students are initially supportive about having four day weeks, but they don’t enjoy the idea of longer school days.

“I don’t think we should have a four-day week because it would extend our school time here, and we would have less of a summer break,” sophomore Whitney Ankton said. “Even though that one Friday off would be a nice break, I think we should just continue to have a five-day week.”

Having longer school days could interfere with extracurricular activities, and the school would have to pay their staff for extra hours. This change would not only affect the students, but the teachers as well.

“I feel like a four-day school week is advantageous for students who have jobs, and it would be helpful in some ways for students who have extracurricular activities. On the other hand, students that miss a lot of school for games or for band, it would be harder if they had to miss a day,” teacher Julie Suelzer said. “It’s a good idea, but it would have to be coordinated on a larger scale than just in this district so its not to impact the academics of those who have to miss school.”

As of now, Texas High has not discussed this change, so it’s unknown if it will affect the school in the future. Considering the rapid spread of this schedule, it’s likely TISD, along with districts around us, will shift to this new change. It’s up to the community to decide whether or not they think schools will be positively affected by the four-day week.