Many school districts across the nation are adopting a new instructional school week and dropping the traditional five-day educational schedule. Students will be attending longer school days in exchange for a three-day weekend. There is debate on whether four-day school weeks provide more pros or cons, but with everything considered, the benefits of shortening the week clearly outweigh the negatives.

The popularity of this adoption has been on the rise ever since COVID-19, at the time 650 districts had been implementing the schedule. Since then, the number has risen to over 850 districts and many more are considering making the switch.

One appeal of these shorter weeks is due to many issues occurring with education including absenteeism and teacher shortages. With this change, teachers will have more time to work on grading and planning, as well as have the opportunity to spend more time with family and relax. With extra preparation during downtime, teachers will have a better opportunity to actively engage with their students in the classroom. Students are provided with fewer days to go to school, so the intent is that attendance levels will increase with this change, while the amount of time spent in school remains close to the same as before.

Sophomore Siena Dattile agreed that there should be four-day school weeks. “It gives everyone a chance to spend more time with family and friends, which a five-day week doesn’t allow for.”

Four-day school weeks also have the upside of cost efficiency. Schools will be able to save on transportation, food, and energy. Although this may be beneficial for schools, some students may rely on getting meals in the cafeteria as their source of nutrition. Parents, especially those of younger children or kids with special needs, might need the extra school day because they have no one to watch over their kids at home. Lots of parents have jobs on Friday or Monday and can’t skip work to care for their kids that could otherwise be learning in school. These adults will need to add another expense into their budgets for someone to take care of their kids.

Some are concerned with longer school days as kids could get worn down by the amount of extra time they have to spend in school. Some students have short attention spans, and it could be difficult for them to concentrate for a long period of time. While on the other hand, the long weekends give students a longer period of rest to catch up on work, do extracurricular activities, and participate in hobbies.

“I personally really like the idea of shortening the school week. Even though the days would be longer, I feel like the sacrifices would be worth it,” stated Junior Bella Ugalde. “There will be more time for students to complete homework and study, so they are less stressed during the week. I think it will overall improve academics at school.”

Stress levels are predicted to decrease with less school days in the week. Having tons of work piled up over the course of five days can have an extreme impact on mental health, especially with those who opt to take advanced classes that need more effort, having more time off to regroup lowers the harsh effects that school has on kids and staff members.