https://thehill.com/homenews/3888891-almost-60-school-districts-in-texas-have-now-made-the-switch-to-four-day-weeks/
So what do young children of working parents do on the fifth day? And are the days now longer? Summers now shorter? So many questions not answered by this article.
It's not the only innovation in K-12 scheduling out there. In our state some schools are replacing the summer break with several shorter breaks scattered through the year. The idea is to prevent summer learning loss. A school district adjacent to ours is considering that.
Some are going to 4-day F2F, and one day virtual learning, too.
Quote from: apl68 on March 08, 2023, 02:47:20 PM
It's not the only innovation in K-12 scheduling out there. In our state some schools are replacing the summer break with several shorter breaks scattered through the year. The idea is to prevent summer learning loss. A school district adjacent to ours is considering that.
That's pretty standard in the places I've lived in Germany. Shorter, more frequent breaks. But parents (and everyone else) have better leave/vacation entitlements. How does it work in the US where even parental and sick leave isn't legislated, much less vacation leave?
Quote from: MarathonRunner on March 10, 2023, 11:27:41 AM
Quote from: apl68 on March 08, 2023, 02:47:20 PM
It's not the only innovation in K-12 scheduling out there. In our state some schools are replacing the summer break with several shorter breaks scattered through the year. The idea is to prevent summer learning loss. A school district adjacent to ours is considering that.
That's pretty standard in the places I've lived in Germany. Shorter, more frequent breaks. But parents (and everyone else) have better leave/vacation entitlements. How does it work in the US where even parental and sick leave isn't legislated, much less vacation leave?
Not that well from relatives' experience. It is a schedule that has been pretty widely tried in the US, and it does not appear to result in higher test scores in this country.
Our local school district will go to a 4 day week next year. The savings touted are minimal at best. It's just a sop to teachers who really need help and a raise. Say goodbye to raises, folks. 80% of a week is 80% of pay.
And, again, very hideous for many k12 kids, who really cannot access ol ed, for a wide variety of reasons.
I'm all for a shorter work week (not that it matters for me as a professor), but the transition won't be seamless as the posts on children in school demonstrate.
Quote from: Sun_Worshiper on March 14, 2023, 07:49:05 AM
I'm all for a shorter work week (not that it matters for me as a professor), but the transition won't be seamless as the posts on children in school demonstrate.
Yes, there's no way such a dramatic change in the schooling schedules of so many households could not lead to disruption--the sort of disruption that people are very, very quick to complain about. Doesn't seem like something a district would want to try unless they had some very convincing evidence that it would help in some way. I hope that the decision makers have thought through what they're doing carefully, and plan the transition in such a way as to try to minimize the disruption. It's the sort of thing that could be done well or done much less well.