They can supervise their children at the bus stop in rural districts as well. We call for a relatively radical and certainly quite comprehensive reorganization of Americas P-20 system. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extended School Days. Weekend sporting events make it easier to get students to them, especially when they are an away event, because the school day doesnt interfere on a Friday. Better Employee Engagement A 4 day week can lead to happier and more committed employees. Why shorter school days are better for teachers? Overall, there are pros and cons to shorter school days. Their students were more focused because they were more rested, which equated to fewer classroom disruptions. Some schools even require students to have the belt line exposed at all times for fear of guns concealed under clothing. Those human beings that seem larger than life and almost achieve Godlike status. If school doesnt get out until 4pm, then the student makes it home at 5pm. Year round schools, can actually benefit students in the long run. Students in the third through sixth grades have improved their ACT scores, according to studies. Having students to fit 5 days' worth of classroom time into 4 days would make for a tiring schedule, where many of the younger school children would find it very difficult to focus on their study for such long periods. Pros and Cons of a Shorter Workweek. It may reduce the number of discipline referrals for students. Spread the loveAre you looking for strategies to help students who cannot fasten their own clothes? Long summers are known to cause "summer slide," or the decline of academic skills and knowledge over the course of the extended vacation. This can be due to a lack of accessible facilities and resources, or negative attitudes and misconceptions from teachers and classmates. Some are facing the debate about whether to keep standardized tests or not. Potential for juvenile crime to increase. This issue occurs at all grade levels. Some schools do not allow recess to be used as punishment, while others may do so on a case-by-case basis. Research has shown that in this configuration, students who are low-income, minority, or special needs dont fare too well academically. Pros and cons of a four day working week. Some families find that aligning the school day with typical parent work schedules is a family-friendly approach. Bisbee Unified School District (AZ) saved $154,000, Duval County Public School (FL) saved $7 million, and Lake Superior School District (MN) $200,000. (Lewis) In Bonneville, Idaho the school started later in the day which resulted in absences dropping 15%. Most schools, when Year Round Schooling: Should it Be Implemented? The Pros and Cons of Year-Round Schools. The evaluated skills include science, math, and reading. Christmas and Spring holiday weeks may be extended as well. School districts save money. For the Cove School District in Eastern Oregon, the school day begins at 8am and doesnt end until 4pm. Students feel less pressure because they have more time to study at their own pace at home, especially in the later grades. Spread the loveApplying for admission to professional and graduate schools is no less competitive than college/undergraduate admissions. Dr. Kelly Meier earned her doctorate from Minnesota State Mankato in Educational Leadership. It almost forces some families into taking their vacation time from work during these holidays to accommodate the needs of their children. An eight-hour day is pretty undesirable for elementary-aged kids. Spread the loveOne of the questions that I am frequently asked is, what does a good teacher look like? The program not only saves districts money, but it also allows students to spend more time with their families. Longer school days make no sense when there is so much else we could be doing with our time. What we envisage may not be the most straightforward or the most conventional ideas. Schools may even have to purchase lights for after school activities. These 300 would have to find some alternative to school on Fridays if the Moniteau County R-1 School Districts schedule changed from a five day week to a four day week. Granby School District in Colorado shifted to a 4-day schedule for their 1,100 students. Not only would this give everyone a 3-day weekend to enjoy, it would also limit the pressure on students and teachers to have a diversified learning experience in a compressed time period. Teacher time will be increased when the school day is extended, allowing them to spend more time with pupils and to concentrate on problem areas and more challenging content. When busing and after-school activities are included in that timeframe as well, some older students may find themselves putting in 12-hour days at school every day. 4. 1. Additional learning time as well as improved schedule alignment would make the lives of families noticeably more pleasant. A low income school in New Haven, Connecticut started the new year telling students they would be attending school until 4:15 P.M. four days a week. These are the key points that must be addressed first. You still have to go to practice, and dont forget the piles of homework that need done. In return, the number of disciplinary measures can also be reduced. Small group learning with discussion, for example, increases the information retention rate for students up to 80%. Finally, teachers and students would have better relationships as they spend more time together instead of being rushed. There are several advantages and disadvantages of 4-day school weeks to examine based on the results that districts are reporting from their efforts to implement this schedule. If you ask the average kid what they think about school, youll get a very honest answer: Its boring. From K-12, it can be difficult for students to stay engaged in the classroom during a 5-day school week. So it is illogical to think that a four day week will help other grade levels. According to author accounts, teachers and students suffer as a result of recess being taken away as a punishment for behavior. Recent survey findings show that four-day school weeks have been adopted as a way to alleviate budgetary issues, attract teachers, and reduce student absencesissues that the pandemic . By 2013, a dramatic improvement in scores was credited to the extended learning time. It starts too early, ends too late, and occurs far too often. Dr. Kelly S. Meier - Updated May 03, 2019, Copyright 2023 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Education, Explore state by state cost analysis of US colleges in an interactive article, NavajoCode: Unbiased Longer School Days Pros and Cons. Sacrifices Family Time. One of the primary reasons why school districts, especially rural districts, save money when they shift to a 4-day schedule is because there are fewer transportation costs. There are positive outcomes that may occur, but there are negative outcomes that must also be managed. What's the Difference Between Burnout and Demoralization, and What Can Teachers Do About It? Over the course of a 2-year period on this alternative schedule, they reported up to a 20% increase in student attendance. While state requirements vary on the number of instructional days and hours in the year, the majority of states set the school year at 180 days (30 states). Pros. After 12 hours of being away from home, students struggle to find time to study during the 4-day school week. School Evaluation For Special Education What Parents Need to Know, Effectively Educating Diverse Student Populations: Strategies That Work - Applead Hofu, The Importance Of Sight Words In Early Reading GoGreenva.org, Online Education in Chennai - Birla Brainiacs, Advancing Technology Education in Rural High Schools Across - The Tech Edvocate - VSAY .IN. You are more likely to face poverty: those who drop out of school without any plans, stare at poverty in the face without the option of getting out of it. This extra hour can make the day pretty long especially for younger students, which can often lead to a loss of focus later in the day. To see how shorter school days hurt both teachers and students, we need to look at a major structural change in education. If young kids are too weary to concentrate or perform well in class, they may experience weariness or fall asleep during class time. Pros of Year-Round School. The current school schedule is a major downgrade from the 8:30 AM to 2:00 PM distance learning schedule. on those days off. Longer school days may lead to attention deficit and fatigue, making the extra class time ineffective. The Pros of Longer School Days More Time for Instruction The number one reason for lengthening the school day is to provide teachers with more time for instruction. When teachers operate under time constraints, in high-pressure situations, then they typically default to a lecture-based teaching style. When looking at the benefits of a longer school year, the opportunity for expanding subject matter and the individualized needs of students are factors. The Advantages and Disadvantages of Extended School Days Advantage: More time to devote to learning. At my school, class went from 8:15 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. about an hour or two longer than a typical five-day-week school's day. That can make it difficult for some students to pay attention to the information being provided. In Lexington, Oregon, Morrow County was able to save about $250,000 their first year, but out of a budget of $14 million. Students are still getting the same amount of instruction in terms of minutes, just in a shorter number of days. It also means that they would have more time to mark the voluminous quantity of homework that they have to complete every night. If something goes wrong . teams may need to practice, professional development sessions may convene, etc. Theyre from moments we remember having fun, whether that was in the classroom, the playground, or the athletics field. It lists the advantages of the four-day model as: Improved morale and fewer absences: A shorter working week leads to less burnout, making staff happier and more focused in . Some research indicates there may be slight academic benefits to extending the school day. 2. Well, for some rural schools across the nation, this has become a reality. 4. Find out about families that swap a shorter summer break for learning time that's more continuous. So it is illogical to think that a four day week will help other grade levels. Most parents work a 5-day schedule and struggle to adapt to a 4-day school schedule. Thats two hours of lost time for farm chores, homework, or other responsibilities that rural families have more often than urban or suburban families. Why weekends should be longer for students? Good for working parents: This would lead to less wraparound care for working . To compare, a regular semester generally lasts 16-18 weeks. It involves increasing communication and various forms of interaction between people of different nations, ethnicities and cultures. With short school days, students can devote a fair share of time to other meaningful areas in their life, such as socializing and simply being a kid. by elenam112 states This means the school would be open longer, resulting in larger electrical and heating bills. Schools would need to stay open later at night for after school activities and stay open early in the morning for students who are dropped off early. According to the majority of the researchers, the inconclusive results do not imply that decisions to change schedules should be made based on test scores. Many of these schools are already operating on an alternative schedule because that is what works best for their community. In Alabama, the school year lasts 180 days and the school day lasts 7.03 hours. over 1 million dollars on utilities, busing, and labor costs. Students follow the same type of pattern. Many recommend that teens get at least eight hours of sleep to feel well rested and . Advantages of a Shorter Work Week People who work a four-day week say they're healthier, happier, and less time-pressured, according to a report in The Atlantic - and their employers say their employees are much more focused and efficient. It changes the holiday schedules for the school district. Elizabeth Perle 1). Finally, some parents worry that shorter days could mean that their children would have less . The Massachusetts Expanded Learning Time Initiative has already benefited 19 schools and over 10,000 students. One of the biggest concerns of a 4-day school week is the length of seat time that younger students must complete. If schools only had one day off per week, millions of dollars would be saved. The benefits are many. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Signup for The Edvocate Newsletter and have the latest in P-20 education news and opinion delivered to your email address! Spread the loveThe International Baccalaureate Program is a very intensive pre-college program in which when students get involved, they get college credit. The most popular is a 32-hour work week, which means people work 8 hours per day, 4 hours in a week. There are improvements in the school financially. Advantage: More time to devote to learning. Shorter School Days Are the Way. The schedule forces teachers to spend small blocks of time on specific topics without really being able to dig into in-depth issues. (5) Most costs that were reduced were Operations and maintenance, heating and cooling, janitor supplies. Spread the loveFor the past few decades, our countrys educational system has seen both struggle and tremendous change. By having more instruction in class, students can not only get better test scores, but they can also get better grades. Extending the school days even longer would further cut into valuable time to bond with family. It provides an extra day for actual rest to occur when it may be needed without compromising the remainder of the family schedule. The schools who did switch the expenses reduced by 20%, transportation would reduce also by 20%, and the average district could have saving of 5.43% total budget. That means half of parents will enjoy the alternative school schedule and half will hate it. Five-day schools still have the edge in many districts Despite the fact that many districts have seen their test scores make a substantial leap, there are some five-day schools that are still outpacing them academically. Administrative staff are required to be on-site, sports One internet search reveals a wealth of opinions on both sides of the issue, and each argument sheds light on the topic. In 2009, there were 3,000 schools in the United States operating on a year-round basis. 3. It was Mann who founded the first public school in the United States and is widely regarded as the Father of the Public School System. What are some arguments for ending school at 8 hours? Some school districts have reported saving The Melstone School District in Montana also shifted to a 4-day school week. In the United States, the average school day is around six and a half hours long. 4 Day School Week Pros and Cons. In 2006, a study by Yarbrough and Gilman found that teachers working in a 5-day school schedule reported that they have a lot of wasted time. It may improve overall student attendance. flexibility is why they are such staunch proponents of the 4-day school schedule. In This occurs because a large number of students are moving around the school campus. This leads to added costs that some families, living paycheck to paycheck, may not be able to afford. In 2009, there were 3,000 schools in the United States operating on a year-round basis. Schools can save up to 20% on some budget-line expenses with a 4-day week. After-school jobs are a common way for teens to make money. Four day school weeks have been discussed by many schools, and some schools already have them. In Colorado, 31 of the states 176 school districts are currently using a 4-day school week. Many school There can be no one answer to this question because it is a matter of case by case. Student performance may improve with a 4-day school week. Taking only one class is practically a . One issue that schools face today is what kind of school schedule there should be throughout the year. Easier to recruit employees. Our general school hours run from 9 am - 2 pm, with extra . The decision to implement such a schedule must therefore be handled at the local level. Other popular year-round schedules are the 60-20 and 90-30 calendars, where students are in class for 60 or 90 days with vacations of 20 or 30 days respectively. If the schools made 40 minute periods, the students could learn just as much as they would in a 50 minute period.One of the biggest benefits of this system is the financial savings.

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