If you have followed my blog here, it will come as no surprise to you that our public schools are in a dire state, and the recent economic downturn has only made that situation worse. There are so many reasons to consider all possible options for positive school reform, it defies the space available here to state them all, so we'll forgo the sad lament of the current state of affairs and take our start at a point far less attended to, albeit infinitely more needed and, furthermore, inspirational: a solution. No, not a grand, fix-all, universal solution to all the ills of the school system, but nonetheless a solution to a significant set of problems that schools across the nation face today. After all, sucess begins with but a single step.
Mr. Townsend has been attending classes through a satellite program from ASU in Winston-Salem for three semesters now. His course of study is a Masters program in Public School Administration, and last month Mr. Townsend wrote a research paper on the pros and cons of the "four-day school week," a calendar proposal that has been implemented for decades in various isolated school districts throughout the country. His paper was thoroughly researched and objective in its approach to this option, and the conclusion that he and many others came to amounts to an overwhelmingly positive appraisal of this option.
Pursuant to writing his research paper on the four-day school week, Mr. Townsend sent the following email – essentially a summary of his paper’s findings – to three of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System’s (CMS) Board of Education's members, “Coach” Joe White (Member-at-large), Tom Tate (Vice-chairman), and the Board’s Chairman, Eric Davis.
Since his words speak to his point s better than I could rephrase them, I post here the text of his email to these three members of the Board:
[Member’s Name],
Please read the attachment and truly consider this option. We as teachers cannot understand why this option has not been considered as a true option, and has only been given lip service by the school officials. As research points out the excuses given to the teachers for not considering the four day week do not hold up to scrutiny once examined thoroughly. School calendars have been a source of contention ever since they first came into existence. The agrarian nature of society during the early days made it imperative that school children get out of school early enough in the spring to help plow the fields and plant the seed. In the fall, it was important to have the children at home to help with the harvest and storage of the crops. During this time family sizes were very large to help in the fields. Today our way of life has changed significantly. Our economy is no longer primarily agrarian, and where it is, machinery and migrant labor have taken away the need for children to stay at home and help do the cultivating, planting and harvesting. Yet we still find ourselves using basically the same school calendar that we have been following since its conception. You may ask “why”; I know I did. As I read through article after article to try to understand this issue, I found that I was not alone in my query or quest to find a better calendar. This is not a new question by any means and has been contemplated and toyed with for many years now. With student test scores so poor that they have gained national attention, and teacher morale at its lowest in decades, everyone is looking for alternative ways to make education more meaningful and engaging. Couple this with the worst economy since the great depression, and you have ample incentive to search for changes that can be made in order to save money and keep the schools running – among them, changes to the calendar. President Obama proposed that American school children extend their time in class, either by extending the school day, or spending less time on school vacation. “We can no longer afford an academic calendar designed when America was a nation of farmers who needed their children at home plowing the land at the end of each day,” Obama said. He continued with: “That calendar may have once made sense, but today, it puts us at a competitive disadvantage. Our children spend over a month less in school than children in South Korea. That is no way to prepare them for a 21st century economy.” (As noted in the March 12, 2009 Ed in Review News Blog) The Obama plan does not take into consideration, however, the cost of running schools for longer periods of time. More school days, or year round schools cost the systems many thousands of dollars more per day for transportation, food service, maintenance, teacher salaries, etc. At a time when school boards are scrimping to just get by, having to make tremendous cuts in their operations budget, and laying off teachers and staff, the ability to keep students in school more days is, well let’s just say, not in the budget. So if going to school for more days is not economically feasible, then what else can school boards consider that might work? One good option would be the four-day school week. Let’s explore this option in more detail. It seems the more I read about this option the more convinced I became that for supposedly educated people, many school boards and school superintendents sure do like to speak out before doing their homework. I know that bringing up the option of a four-day week can be scary for someone in politics, but aren’t we trying to do what is best for the children? The fact of the matter is that four-day school weeks have been in use successfully for many years now in a large number of states. There are more than 100 school districts in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Louisiana, Wyoming, Michigan, Kansas, Kentucky, and Wisconsin that have switched to a four-day calendar. In New Mexico, eighteen districts operate on a four-day week. The calendar is most popular in Colorado; witness a 2006 report from the Colorado Department of Education (CDE), which stated: “Sixty-two school districts, constituting 34% of the 178 school districts in Colorado, serving 2.7% of students, utilize the four-day week as the structure for organizing their school year.” There are, of course, pros and cons to a four-day school week. The North Carolina Board of Education has as its task “to provide every child with the opportunity to receive a ‘sound basic education’ during a minimum of 180 days and 1000 hours of instruction covering at least nine calendar months.” (ELNC, General Powers and Responsibilities.) Keeping this in mind, let’s look at some of the pros and cons that many superintendants and school boards have voiced. Following is a partial list of pros and cons that came from (www.associatedcontent.com/article) Con: It will force many parents to have to pay for a baby sitter or daycare for the day the children are off. Many parents do not have another family member to help look after their child, and to find someone or someplace that will keep their child will cost money. Pro: It will help the school system save on the cost of fuel for bus transportation. One of the main reasons it seems that rural schools are considering the four-day school week is because it is costing a large amount of money for fuel for the buses to transport the children. Con: Children will have a much longer day than normal which could interrupt their sleep. Many children right now have homework and extracurricular activities that they need to do after school. Between the longer school day followed by dinner, extracurricular activities, then their homework, they may be getting to bed much later only to have to get up at the same time that they are used to the following morning. Pro: there could be more uninterrupted lessons and projects in school during those four days. Some lessons take longer to teach and have to be continued the following day, which could break the thought process of some students. Other articles brought up further pros and cons such as, on the positive side, districts may save 20% on fuel cost alone, while the district would also save by serving breakfast and lunch four days instead of five, keeping the building temperature down for three days instead of two. Students do not have to miss school for appointments, because most can be scheduled for the Monday that they are off. The only viable cons that I could find are those listed above pointing primarily to parents having to find daycare, provide meals (breakfast and lunch) for an extra day, and worry about fatigue and school achievement dropping. But the research supports the fact that surveys show the four-day school week has a 90% approval rating, and students attend school better because they know they have Monday off for appointments. According to David L. Silvernail, director of the Center of Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation at the University of Southern Maine, most of the research on the subject has shown four-day school weeks to have a positive or negligible effect on student achievement. (Gilmore, J. 2010). Joyce Reinke in her paper entitled “More with Four: A Look at the Four-Day Week” took a look at two southern Oregon schools that implemented the four-day school week on a trial basis as far back as 1982-83, and five eastern Oregon districts that continue to use this schedule today. She found according to the enthusiastic responses of parents, staff, and students on annual surveys, the four-day week produced: 1) A 15% to 23% reduction in cost plus additional savings in energy costs and non-teacher salaries. 2) More actual learning time due to less set-up time and fewer interruptions. 3) More time for staff development, extracurricular activities, and family business. 4) Less student and teacher absenteeism 5) Higher teacher morale and student enthusiasm 6) More parental involvement. 7) No adverse effects. Also noted in this report were the following disadvantages: 1) Difficulties of restoration of the five-day week, if desired. 2) Increased cost for some parents. 3) Increased teacher stress. 4) Tiredness in younger children. 5) The impact of holidays on the schedule. 6) Concerns about the national movement toward a longer school year. Also according to the CDE: “Among districts which have implemented the concept, the practice of the four-day week is very popular among students, parents, and teachers. Satisfaction surveys indicate that 80% -90% of the community members favor continuing the four-day week in districts which had been on the schedule for several years. The opposition seems to come from members of the community not directly associated with the school, and from those who feel that school employees should work a traditional week.” (as noted by CDE p5) It appears that the only opposition that could be found in systems that had made the change to a four-day week came from resistance to change, jealousy, and ignorance. The CDE also backed up the claim that in the districts that had moved to the four-day school week, they were saving approximately 20% on transportation cost, approximately 20% on food service. There is some savings on staff such as aides and paraprofessionals who may or may not work the same number of hours per week. The CDE report goes on to explain: “The issue of baby-sitting seems to be a wash. With the longer school day, students get home at approximately the same time as their parents. The latchkey issue is virtually non-existent on school days. The issue is the full day of childcare needed on the fifth day. Most people have made the adjustment within neighborhoods or in other ways. With schools closed more baby sitters are available. It does not seem more difficult to arrange for a single full day of babysitting than for a couple of hours five days per week. In many cases a single day is simpler.” (As noted by CDE p7) The CDE report points out that there has been no conclusive evidence that student performance has been significantly affected by the four-day week either way, but the general feeling is that students do no worse on the four-day week than on the traditional schedule. They also point out an interesting side note in their study that shows when the financial crisis eased, programs were expanded. Many Districts offer programs for gifted students, art/music programs, remedial programs, and disciplinary programs. Another report that investigated the impact of a four-day school week in the Shelley district of Idaho was performed by Richard L. Sagness and Stephanie A. Salzman included the following: 1) Surveys of all district stakeholders, which included 2,039 k-12 students, 492 parents, 103 teachers, and 85 support staff. 2) A comparison of student-achievement scores with previous years. 3) Classroom observations of engaged time. 4) An analysis of student, teacher, and staff absenteeism data. 5) Cost-factor analysis. In their results they found: “That student achievement increased at some grade levels, and at other grade levels it was comparable with achievement for previous years. Other outcomes included high levels of student on-task behaviors, less disruption of instructional time, sustained student engagement, a decrease in employee and student absenteeism, and an approximate 1.6 percent savings in the district budget.” (As noted by Sagness, Salzman, p.1) Let’s take a look at a district a little closer to home and how they are handling the budget crisis. Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is facing some- where close to an $80 million shortfall in their budget this year. They had another huge deficit last year and solved the problem by firing teachers, cutting back on security personnel in the schools, and reducing the number of administrative staff, such as assistant principals and some secretarial positions, along with cutting other administrative staff at the central office level. Every time they were asked about the possibility of moving to a four-day school week, their response was “we are mandated by the state to have our students in school 180 days.” At no time have they indicated that they have gone or are going to the legislature to ask for a change in policy that would allow CMS to consider the possibility of moving to a four-day week. Instead they are proposing to fire another 600 teachers, cut back on some of the learning communities, and cut some more administrative staff. They are also looking at cutting out middle school sports. It should be noted that the 180 days and 1000 hours was a fairly arbitrary standard set long ago, and has no real basis in fact – in terms of how it’s best for students or faculty. It’s often over-ridden when a district has many extra snow days, or days off due to any sort of bad weather or unusual circumstances.] All studies show that increasing class size has a detrimental effect on student achievement. An average class of 30 students might have a demographic consisting of 4 to 5 Behavioral Mentally Handicapped (BEH), 2 non-English speakers, 3 Limited English speakers (LEP), 3 to 4 gifted and talented, and a range of students with varying degrees of ability filling out the class. For those that have never taught it should be kept in mind that it is the teacher’s job to keep these students actively involved in a learning activity that teaches them the subject matter needed to achieve satisfactory test scores. These test scores are the basis by which the teacher’s performance will be judged, and their pay will be based. This is not an easy task considering that some of the students had no sleep the night before, no breakfast that morning, and many may be staying in homeless shelters, or living mostly on the streets. Many of the students are hooked on drugs, involved in gangs, and some are too old to even be in the grade level they are in, and are intent on disrupting class as often as possible. Many of these children have no parents, and some have parents that just do not care. Some have parents that do care but are just too overwhelmed themselves trying to keep food on the table to have time to get involved, while other parents just simply do not know how. You also have the students that the system has already failed by letting them move up grade levels when they cannot read, write, or do basic math even at an elementary level. Yet it is the teacher’s job to keep them on a par and up with the curriculum that the state has mandated in terms of content, and the pace at which the teacher must teach. And this is just the tip of the iceberg that the education system has crashed into. Taking all this into consideration, it’s obvious that it makes no sense to fire teachers and increase class size by even one student. It was not too many years ago that we wanted to find a way to help our children get a better education so that they would not find themselves out on the street. Break it down per student to see how much time each child can receive from a teacher during a class period, and you can better see the impact of such reduction. During an 80 min block class schedule, a class of 35 students will have a chance after taking roll during a warm-up activity to get almost 70 min of instruction. That is 2 min of individual attention each if nothing else takes up any of the teacher’s time. Now in reality there will be quite a bit of time taken giving out instructions, going over activities with the group, and handing out papers or worksheets, etc. If the teacher is lucky they might have 35 to 40 minutes left to help children on an individual basis. Add to this dealing with a discipline problem, or working with a student that speaks no English, or explaining a differentiated lesson plan to a slow learner, and that teacher might only have 10 to 20 minutes, or about 35 seconds per child left to work with each of the other students helping them understand their assignment, or checking their work. If we increase the class size to 40 students then the individual time for each student on a good day would drop to 30 seconds per child. This is getting far beyond the point of reasonable expectations for anyone attempting to educate children. Surely there is a better way to cut spending without further destroying the teaching profession and the system’s ability to provide every child with the opportunity to receive a "sound, basic education". In conclusion, switching to a four-day school week is not, and will not, be a fix-all for education in any system, but it is, and has proven to be, a very viable option that should be considered as a means of retaining qualified teachers and increasing the ability of students to get an opportunity for a sound basic education. There is an old saying; “Do what you have always done and you will get what you have always got.” Let us as educators not bury our heads in the sand and ignore the facts. There are other, much better solutions to budget problems than firing teachers and increasing class sizes. We as educators need to practice what we preach, thinking outside the box, with innovation and creativity. This 21st century is a bold new beginning and we need to embrace it with enthusiasm and courageous, well-planned actions, based in truth, not rumor.
Sources:
R, L. (2008). Pros and cons of a four day week. Lifestyle, Retrieved from http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/962826/pros_and_cons_of_a_four_day_school_pg2.html?cat=25
Pytel, B. (2006). No schools on fridays . Suite101.com, Retrieved from http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/no_school_on_fridays Badgley, A, &
Borman, M. (2010, March 23). Lawmakers split on four-day school week. The Telegraph.com, Retrieved from http://www.thetelegraph.com/articles/school-37973-students-districts.html
Sood, K. (2010, March 24). Four day school week in the works: local educators leery, fear effect it might have on students. Saukvalley.com, Retrieved from http://www.saukvalley.com/articles/2010/03/24/66081096/index.xml
Courier, J. (2010). Saving money is key in four-day school week debate. My Journal Courier.com, Retrieved from http://www.myjournalcourier.com/articles/school-26052-week-key.html
Brandi. (2009, March 12). Obama proposes longer school days, extended school year. Retrieved from http://www.eduinreview.com/blog/2009/03/obama-proposes-longer-school-days-extended-school-year/
Foster, J. (2008, October 21). Res's 4-day-school-week idea. Retrieved from http://blogs.thestate.com/bradwarthensblog/2008/10/rexs-4-day-scho.html
Dam, A. (Ed.). (2006). The 4 day school week. Denver, Colorado: Colorado Department of Education.
Yarbrough, R, & Gilman, D.A. (2006). From Five days to four. Educational Leadership, 64(n2), 80-85.
Reeves. K. (1999. March). The four-day school week. School Administrator, 56(3), 30-33.
Sagness, R.L., & Salzman, S.A. (1994). Evaluation of the four-day school week in Idaho suburban schools. Research Paper, (RIEMAR1994), 01-34.
Yarbrough, R., & Gilman, D.A. (2006). From Five days to four. Educational leadership, 64(n2), 80-65.
Reinke, J. (1987). More with Four: a look at the four-day week in Oregon's small schools. Research Paper, 01-21.
Sims, G. (2008). Maccray school district 4 day school week presentation. Power Point Presentation, 01-23.
Gilmore, J. (2010). Facts on a four-day school week. e-How blog, Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/facts_6153762_four-day-school-week.html
The responses and correspondence that follows is between Thomas Townsend and these members of the CMS Board of Education:
“Coach” Joe White:
-----Original Message-----
From: coachjoew
To: tmtcontractor1@xxxx
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 10:53 am
Subject: RE: Message from Online Feedback Form
Thanks for you thoughts and concerns. Four day week might be great if you have someone to care for your kids on friday. Would be a disaster for working people, the community, and police in my opinion. "Coach"
From: tmtcontractor1@xxxx
Sent: Tuesday, May 11, 2010 11:11 AM
To: coachjoew
Subject: Re: Message from Online Feedback Form
Well at least you responded. Thank you for that, but what research do you base your opinion on? I cannot find any research to support your concerns, and the research from states that have been doing this for many years have found that your concerns are in fact not correct, both the community and the schools have been overwhelmingly in favor of keeping the four day week once it was put into place. It is much better than increasing class size and further deteriorating the ability of teachers to do an effective job.
By the way many businesses also use the four day week and I have been on both sides of this issue.
Thank you for your time and thoughtful response.
-----Original Message-----
From: coachjoew
To: tmtcontractor1@xxxx
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 11:17 am
Subject: RE: Message from Online Feedback Form
There is no state and I know of no school system that uses a four days week when kids are in school. CMS does it in the summer time. I don't want to be trite, but businesses are what got us into this budget mess!! Thanks. "Coach"
-----Original Message-----
From: tmtcontractor1@xxxx
To: coachjoew@cms.k12.nc.us
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 11:46 am
Subject: Re: Message from Online Feedback Form
Coach,
Please take the time to at least read the article before making such statements. There are many states that have districts using the four day week and have been since the 80s. I know you mean well, but I don't want you to look like you do not know what you are talking about. Please, at least for your own information, do a little research before making statements that might cause you to lose all of your creditability. The board needs someone that is outspoken and not afraid to speak out on issues, but you must have your facts correct or you will hurt your cause.
Tom Tate, Vice-Chairman, CMS Board of Education:
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Tate
To:
Sent: Tue, May 11, 2010 1:35 pm
Subject: Re: Message from Online Feedback Form
Thanks for the lengthy email and all the ideas. For some years the Board has been trying to get relief from the state of North Carolina regarding the calendar for schools. For the four plus years I've been on the Board it has been a main part of our Legislative Agenda. We have not gotten anywhere, however. In brief we have to provide 180 days of schooling between August 25 and June 10, no matter what days of the week those days fall on. We have been unsuccessful in getting any flexibility in the calendar. When you add on the required holidays and teacher workdays and seek to have a nearly equal number of days in each quarter and semester the puzzle becomes harder to put together. We have been seeking the flexibility you indicate would be good to have. We simply have not received it yet.
Again, thanks.
Tom
Eric Davis, Chairman, CMS Board of Education:
-----Original Message-----
From: Eric C. Davis
To: tmtcontractor1@xxxx
Sent: Sun, May 16, 2010 2:48 pm
Subject: Re: Message from Online Feedback Form
Mr. Townsend,
I support relief from the current state law that mandates a 180 day school year. To change that law and gain the benefits that you describe here requires state legislation and is not within the Board of Education's authority. We have expressed our desire for changing the calendar law. Please join us by sharing with our state legislators your perspective on why they should grant school districts like ours the authority to set the school calendar.
Best wishes
Eric
-----------------------------------------------------
And there you have it: responses that range from blatant ignorance of the facts of the proposal through educated awareness and outright support for the proposal, but the fact remains that at the local level, the School Boards' hands are tied. If there is to be flexibility in the calendar of local school systems, it has to begin with the blessing of the state legislature. And that brings me to my final point, which is simply that we, the taxpayers, the voters, the citizens of this state, will have to take this matter into our own hands. Mr. Davis asked Mr. Townsend to "join us" by voicing his opinion to the NC State Assembly; I ask each and every one of you who read these words to please do the same. The four-day week does not have to be the end result; there are other options, also, but none of them will have a chance if the local school systems are bound by the obsolete and restrictive calendar requirements that currently block innovative and imaginative change. Together, we can raise a call loud enough to wake the sleeping giants in Raleigh, but only our united voices will achieve that. Furthermore, only if we can bring our legislators out of their comfortable slumber can we manage to make way for the changes that will put the details of the school calendar back into the hands of the local school boards. This is necessary for the continued competitiveness of our students in today's world, and it is only sensible. Take a stand, and make a lasting, positive difference for the young people of our state. If we can achieve this, NC can once again lead by example in the field of education... wouldn't that be something to be proud of?
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