Exploring the Four-Day School
Week: What Every Administrator
Should Know About the Facts!
COSA Conference, BREAKOUT SESSION ROUND I
June 24, 2010
Seaside, Oregon
Today’s Presentation will consist of . . .
What it is.
Why Oakridge did it.
Available research with objective exploration
Board and Community involvement Process
Comparison of seat time and work time
Positive and Negative Attributes
Strategies to alleviate negative attributes
What the five day school week isn’t . .
What is it?
Four days of school each week.
Typically Monday through Thursday
Some Districts have gone to a Tuesday - Friday
If there is a Holiday on Monday go to Tuesday - Friday
Was originally started in mid ‘70s to save money and
fuel during the energy crisis.
Been a dramatic increase in districts implementing in
Oregon over the past 15 years.
Usually only implemented in small districts
Why did the Oakridge School District go to the Four-Day
School week?
Have been successful on the five day week
“Outstanding” ranking of Oakridge High – Leader in OUS
statistics with 90% of graduating students attending college.
Less than a 1% dropout rate.
“Exceptional” Elementary School
Looked for something to push us over the plateau
Corbett School District: April, 2008
Spoke with Board Members about the possibilities.
Increased teacher vitality.
When I become a
teacher . . .
Research and Data
Contacted every school district in Oregon that was on
the Four-Day School week.
OSLIS Search for research
Beesley and Anderson(2007); Duur (2003); Kenworthy (n.d.);
Kingsbury(2008); Parker(1998); Richard (2002).
Beesley and Anderson’s Meta-analysis
Research was then combined with community forums to
exam the possibilities for the Oakridge School District.
Meetings Regarding the Positive and Negative
Attributes of the Four Day School Week
August 13, 2008 Board Work Session
Board Meetings (6)
Meetings for OJH and OHS Staff (4)
Meetings for OES Staff (2)
Evening Meetings for District Parents (4)
Evening Meeting for Public Served by OSD (1)
Meeting for OSD Bus Drivers and Cooks (3)
Evening Meeting for OSD Students (2)
Superintendents committee on the Four-Day School week
Negatives
Worries about child care for elementary school children on Fridays
Perception that long days for OES students will cause fatigue
Decrease in hours for some classified staff
Students who are absent miss more instruction
Difficulty in community and parent reaction to plan
Perceived lessening of instructional hours
Concerns that SFA (Reading Program) will not work on a four day week.
Concerns that students will not have food when school is out on the fifth day.
Bus routes would have to be adjusted to minimize travel impact for High Prairie.
Bus driver recovery time needs to be addressed.
Positive
Student attendance increases
Teacher absences decrease
Student academic progress improved, or remained the same
Custodian use of Fridays for tasks typically put off until summer
Decreased bus maintenance
Employee morale boosted; Teacher turnover declines
Building an Airplane
Decline in student discipline
Increased parental involvement in schools
Teachers note the more effective use of class time
Students have been noted by researchers to have increased
engagement as compared to 5 day week
90% of communities that adopt are very happy with the four-day week after
implementation, despite reservations prior to implementation
Positive
Next year there will be six districts in the Mountain View League that will be less
than five days, allowing for the movement of games typically played on
Thursdays to be moved to Fridays.
Could share staff and resources between OHS/OJH and OES if the rotating
schedule was no longer in effect
Bus drivers and cooks would be offered all extra duty supervision before
others to make up time lost.
Longer weekends that provide for more family interactions/mini-vacations
Survey Results of Residents of the Winston-Dillard School District, Oakland School District, and Days Creek School District
November 10, 2008
“Do you have children currently in the school District?”
Yes
No
Winston-Dillard
14
5
Oakland
12
9
Days Creek
9
5
Grandparents
2
“On a scale of 1-5, with five being the highest what would you rate the four day school week?” (no = 1, yes = 5)
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Conglomerate Average
Winston-Dillard0
0
2
6
12
4.5
4.56
Oakland
0
1
1
3
15
4.6
Days Creek 0
0
1
4
9
4.57
“On a scale of 1-5, with one being the lowest, do you consider fatigue an issue for children?” (no = 1, yes = 5)
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Conglomerate Average
Winston-Dillard11
5
3
0
1
1.75
1.72
Oakland
11
7
1
0
1
1.65
Days Creek 6
6
1
1
0
1.38
“On a scale of 1-5, how difficult is it to obtain child care on the day off?” (no = 1, yes = 5)
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Conglomerate Average
Winston-Dillard19
2
0
0
0
1.09
1.27
Oakland
14
5
0
1
0
1.4
Days Creek 11
2
1
0
0
1.38
“On a scale of 1-5, has the four day school week impacted student activities and athletics?” (no = 1, yes = 5)
1
2
3
4
5
Average
Conglomerate Average
Winston-Dillard16
3
1
0
1
1.42
1.69
Oakland
15
2
1
2
0
1.5
Days Creek 12
1
0
0
1
2.35
5 Day Week Teacher Work Hours
Per School Year (8:00 – 3:45)
191 Days
X
7.25 Hours
*Does not include lunch
=
1384.75
Hours
191 Days includes:
172 instructional days
6 Paid Holidays
4 Grading Days
3 Curriculum Days
4 In-Service Days (2 = .5 Days)
2.5 Work days (5 .5 Days)
1 Flex Day
Four Day School Week Teacher
Work Hours Per Year (7:30 – 4:00)
153
Instructional +
Days
=
83,040
Minutes
173 Work Days includes:
153 instructional days
6 Paid Holidays
4 Grading Days
3 Curriculum Days
4 In-Service Days (2 = .5 Days)
2 Work days (4 .5 Days)
1 Flex Day
20 NonInstructional
Days
=
=
173 Work
Days Per
Year
1384 Work
Hours Per
Year
5 Day Total Instructional Hours at
OHS and OJH (8:20 – 3:15)
172 Days
-
X
30 min
(lunch)
415
minutes
=
-
61,920
minutes
ODE Required Instructional Time:
OHS: 990 hours per year
OJH: 900 hours per year
25 min
(passing
periods)
=
1032 Inst.
Hours
ODE Maximum Seat time per day
OHS, 9 – 12: 7 hours per day
Four Day School Week Total
Instructional Hours at OHS and OJH
(7:55 – 3:45)
153 Days
-
X
30 min
(lunch)
470
minutes
=
-
61,965
minutes
ODE Required Instructional Time:
OHS: 990 hours per year
OJH: 900 hours per year
35 min
(passing
periods)
=
1032 Inst.
Hours
ODE Maximum Seat time per day
OHS, 9 – 12: 7 hours per day
Four Day School Week Total
Instructional Hours at OES (8:00 –
3:00)
153 Days
-
X
30 min
(recess)
420
minutes
=
360
Minutes
ODE Required Instructional Time:
OES 4 – 8: 900 Hours
OES 1 – 3: 810 Hours
OES K: 405 Hours
30 min
(lunch)
-
=
918 Inst.
Hours
ODE Maximum Seat time per day
OES 4-8: 6.5 Hours per Day
OES K -3: 6 Hours per Day
Traditional vs. 4 Day Weeks
Teacher Work
Five Day School Week
Paid Days:
Hours Per Day:
Instructional Days:
Non-Instructional Days:
Start time:
End time:
Work Hours per year:
HS Inst. Hours/year:
OES Inst. Hour/year
Fridays Worked:
Fridays w/ Students:
191
7.25
172
20
8:00
3:45
1384.75
1032
918
35
30
Four Day School Week
Paid Days:
Hours Per Day:
Instructional Days:
Non-Instructional Days:
Start time:
End time:
Work Hours per year:
HS Inst. Hours/year:
OES Inst. Hours/year
Fridays Worked:
Fridays w/ Students:
173
8.0
153
20
7:30
4:00
1384
1032
918
13
6
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Hungry Students on the Weekends
School District partnered with local ministerial society to
provide “snack pacs” of nutritious food for the weekend.
Cereal was provided through “Food for Lane County”
This program has increased community involvement.
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
No one will be able to find babysitters on
Fridays
Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than
actual negative attribute.
Most families were able to find family members to babysit the OES
students.
The District provided Red Cross Child Care classes for any interested high
school students. A list of certified babysitters was compiled, and any parent
that needed childcare would be submitted to the Certified Childcare students.
Not a single request came in from parents that did not have child care.
.5 days cut out of the schedule – easier to find child care for every Friday
than all the .5 days (We will discuss that in more detail later!)
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Days too long for Young Elementary
Students
Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than
actual negative attribute.
Oakridge did not make any specific adaptations to address this attribute.
District has not received any complaints of concerns of the
perceived negative attribute.
Aligned with OSD focus on differentiation of instruction –
cut out lecture.
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Bus Drivers and Cooks would be losing
income.
Perhaps the most significant hurdle to union acceptance.
Oakridge made all extra curricular activity supervision (games; dances;
concerts) available to these specific employees first.
Some of these employees (bus drivers; cooks) actually
saw an increase in salary while others did not because
they did not sign up for this work.
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Increased Crime
Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than
actual negative attribute.
SRO was freed up to provide community patrol.
21st Century School Grant.
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Lessening of Instructional Time
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Earlier tables showed proposed schedule – slight differences in minutes and
we increased instruction by over 30 hours at OHS and 20 hours at OES
Not only are there more seat hours, there is higher engagement of students
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Difficulty in Community and Parent Reaction
Involvement and review
Herding Cats
Opportunity to really involve the community in the decision making process
Not a forgone conclusion – every community is different.
Do not mandate, simply explore. Question every aspect.
Administrator support; Board support
Trial basis with objective data analysis
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
Student Athletes will not have time for
homework
Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than
actual negative attribute.
Coaches have study tables.
Project work is done on weekends.
Lunch time study hall set up.
Negative Attribute Alleviation:
SFA will be harmed
Assigned part of a classified employees time as “SFA
Coordinator”
Make all teachers SFA teachers, decreasing class sizes, and focus on SBE
What a five day school week isn’t . . .
A five day school week is not a five day school week.
Everyone on a five day week please stand.
Rural Gifted Students: Victims of Public
Education
3.6 million per grade; 40% of all districts; 30% of all kids
2.5% are TAG; 378,000 students; $5,000:$1; all funding $21,000:$1
More work, not different work; inadequate services
Hurts our best and brightest kids
Hurts society
Simple cost neutral solution
victimsofeducation.com
Final Thoughts on Four Day
Community must support it – consider a trial basis
Board must support it
Board support not enough – admin must support!
Communication to parents: Structured sleep hours
Powerpoint presentation available at victimsofeducation.com