JEFFERSON CITY — There is not a statistically significant effect on both academic achievement or growth when schools meet one less day per week, a group of researchers told the Missouri State Board of Education Tuesday.
The study surveyed all districts across the state that, as of the 2021-2022 school year, participated in a four-day school week, compared to the typical five-day school week.
The first was the Lathrop R-II School District which decided to move to the four-day model in 2011. Now, according to the group’s findings, 168 school districts across the state have a four-day school week.
Most of the districts participating represent rural communities. This means that though 21% of the state’s school districts participated in the alternate model, only 3% of students across the state experienced the change.
According to the study, 57% of schools currently running a four-day model switched after the pandemic. Those that switched post-pandemic were more likely to be from more populated towns.
However, researchers said regardless of rural or urban, pre- or post-pandemic, the data’s change was too negligible to consider.
“Today’s results were pretty standard of what we’ve seen in prior research in other states,” Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said following the presentation.
Vandeven pointed out that though the data doesn’t show any negatives to switching, there aren’t any positives either.
“We’re at a time right now where we’re really trying to advance opportunities for students,” Vandeven said. “What I would still like to talk about is, how do we provide more instructional time for students. How are we finding interventions that are actually improving outcomes for students.”
Since the data focused on purely quantitative numbers, board members were curious about how the four-day model affects data not expressed by numbers, such as student and teacher sentiment to the extra day off.
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“Is it impacting attendance? Is it making sure that they’re getting the best teachers in front of them in the classroom?” Vandever asked. “There are a number of factors.”
For most of the school districts that made the switch, however, it’s not always about the students.
“Every time I’ve talked to these school districts about this, it’s about our teacher shortage,” Vandever said.
Van-Far R1 Superintendent John Fortney agrees, and said rural school districts are hurting from a shortage of teachers and yearly staff turnover.
“Trying to be cooperative with surrounding school districts, that was a big lead,” Fortney said. “Being able to say, ‘Hey we may not be able to pay you as much as surrounding districts, but we can provide you an extra day.'”
Van-Far began the modified schedule in 2020. Since then, Fortney said it’s become engrained in the district’s culture.
“You mention going back to a five-day work schedule in my district, and you’re going to have more people hurling expletives at you than not,” Fortney said. “Most of our folks are like, ‘I couldn’t even imagine it.'”
To make use of its day off, Fortney said Van-Far started “Monday Academy,” a weekly, optional morning session for students to come into school to receive help from teachers.
“We’re communicating with the families that their child would benefit from coming in on the Monday,” Forteny said. “They’ll get between one to three hours of additional tutoring.”
Fortney said that’s just one of many ways to use the day off. He hopes the district will eventually expand the use of the extra day past morning tutoring.
“I think in the long run, that additional day has made us more efficient, and given us more opportunities,” Fortney said. “There’s a lot of great possibilities if we’re able to stick with it.”