There is a current Pennsylvania debate on whether a four-day school week has positive effects on students. According to CBS News, nearly 900 districts nationwide have already adopted this new concept, but is it the best idea?
Traditionally, schools have had five days a week to align everyone onto the same schedule. More commonly, kids would help their families with farming when they weren’t in school which made up the entire school calendar. This is why summer break was invented, being used for different seasons of agriculture. A lot of debaters argue that this system is outdated and needs to be changed.
The idea of cutting the week down to four days has caused a lot of discussion and debate. Some people believe that a four-day school week is beneficial, while others believe that there is no reason to change traditional policies.
“I would definitely at least like to try it, having longer days will take getting used to but I think we could do it,” says math teacher Mr. Adam Benjamin.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a shorter week saves money, boosts teacher morale, and helps attendance. Studies say that with students having one less day required to come in, they will most likely want to attend school more.
However, some people have countered this point by saying that it will worsen academic performance. As the weekend will be longer, there is more time to forget the material they learned the week prior.
“If having four days a week means the school day will be longer, I would rather stick to the traditional schedule. With sports and after-school activities, we already get home late, and lengthening the day will make it worse,” says Cameryn Beebe, 11.
Some believe that a five-day week pushes students to have better test scores, but a study done in 2023 by RAND Corporation shows that scores from students who attended a five-day school week versus a four-day school week had about the same test scores.
“Although some pros and cons can be found, there has been no research indicating that shortening the week but lengthening each day would lead to increased academic achievement,” says Jeffery Sodl, Stroudsburg High School Principal.
There have also been some concerns with this new idea. According to Linq, dropping down to four days can be hard for elementary students’ parents. Most parents rely on the five-day week to match up with their work schedule. Finding someone to watch their child one day a week can be challenging, and daycare costs are already high. Without the school to take care of their children, who will?
Some parents also rely on the school to provide food for their children. With the week being cut, parents might struggle with feeding their kids. For people living in poverty, this is a very real concern. This can cause a major shift in a family’s quality of life.
Having a longer day can make it tough for younger kids to stay focused the entire day. Pennsylvania law states that we need to have 180 days or 900 hours in a school year. Excluding one day means that school days will have to be longer. Other schools have made the day 60 to 90 minutes longer.
“I think longer school days would be a terrible idea for younger students. By the time my son is home, he is already tired and overwhelmed, and my daughter has extracurricular activities so I don’t see her until late at night,” says Ms. Sarah Cepin, art teacher at Stroudsburg High School.
The 4-day week has already been implemented in several schools across the country, but as of right now, Pennsylvania hasn’t decided. It has been brought up for discussion nationwide and is being reviewed by multiple states. For now, our school will continue with the traditional five-day school week.