4-day school week won’t solve staff problems at Independence schools, or anywhere else

The Independence School District is the latest in Missouri to consider going to a four-day school week in response to a nationwide teacher shortage. We think it’s a terrible idea for teachers, students and parents.

A four-day school week is a gimmick, not much different from the used car salesman putting a new paint job on a clunker with a bad transmission. The “fix” doesn’t address crucial reasons for the teacher shortage in Missouri — which is, quite simply, the atrocious treatment they get.

A better solution is to pay teachers better, respect the profession and stop trying to restrict instruction. And how about we don’t ask teachers to take up arms and become the school police, too? Is it any wonder that teachers are leaving the profession in droves, and fewer young people are making teaching their career choice?

If it’s about competing for teachers in a shallow pool, as many district leaders claim, then trying to incentivize teachers to work in your district because they would be mistreated only four days a week rather than five is not so appealing.

As Paul Katnik, assistant commissioner of the state’s Office of Educator Quality said, the four-day school week is “a recruitment strategy until everyone does it.” In other words, it’s a short-term ploy that can’t overcome the lack of investment in public education that has put school districts in this situation.

We don’t support students getting less time in the classroom. We are also opposed to all efforts to deprive students of opportunities to learn, whether it’s banning books in school libraries, or limiting teaching about African Americans in U.S. history.

Independence would be the largest district in the state to reduce its school week, joining 141 other districts across the state. Most of the other districts are rural, where they save money on busing since transportation in those areas is a major cost. There are also possible economies in food service, security and technology. But district leaders from larger districts tell us those savings would not be significant.

In Independence, with its enrollment of more than 14,200, the shortage of bus drivers is more of a concern. That won’t change with the number of school days. The district, like several others in the metropolitan area, announced this month that because it can’t find drivers, it’s reducing bus routes this year and increasing the distance a student must live from school to receive busing. Bus service will be available only to middle and high school students living 1.5 miles or more from their schools, up from 1 mile before.

Independence Superintendent Dale Herl said the district is studying the four-day school week idea, but it would be a long process that wouldn’t be implemented this year. The process will include parents and the public. Good, because the public will be vital to the decision.

The shortened school week idea, though growing in popularity, hasn’t been around long enough to see its effect on student achievement definitively. So the change would be a roll of the dice at a time when we know academic achievement is down as schools struggle to recover from nearly two years of shutdowns from COVID-19.

School leaders must also consider the burden on parents, who must figure out how to find and afford extra care for children on days when they’d normally be at school. For some students, the only regular meals they get are at school. And some districts have reported an increase in juvenile crime on days students aren’t in class.

Independence, or any other district that considers a four-day school week, should ask itself about the long-term implications.

Bottom line: Does a reduced school week better prepare students for higher-level learning or for earning a living wage? Or will these students be left further behind in a world where education makes a huge difference in standard of living?

A four-day school week would shortchange students and their parents. It’s not worth the risks.

This story was originally published August 11, 2022 at 11:17 AM.