Hurley School District Holds Four-Day School Week Meeting
November 21, 2019
Hurley superintendent Dr. Allison Pope addresses gathered parents on the school’s consideration of a four day school week during a meeting on Monday, November 18.
Isaac Estes-Jones
About 20 parents attended a meeting about a four-day school week at Hurley on Monday night. They listened to information about the proposed switch and heard from administrators, teachers and students who have experienced the schedule, which is growing in popularity in rural school districts.
Dr. Allison Pope, Hurley superintendent, opened the meeting by telling the assembled parents, “We want to share some information with you as the board considers a four day week. We want to hear from all of you.
“This schedule switch is not a done-deal, but it is something to board is considering. With that, I want to share some information on the four day week and scheduling at Hurley,” she said.
As of this year, 61 school districts across the state have adopted a four-day school week. While the schedule was originally developed in the 1970s in western states to help save money, a number of other benefits have become apparent. It is these benefits that have drawn schools to consider the switch in greater numbers recently.
Schools who move to a four day week find improvements in attendance for both teachers and students, an improvement to the culture in the school and increased teacher retention and competitiveness when filling open teacher positions.
“The quality of the education our students receive is the board’s number one priority,” said Dr. Pope. “With that, the board also prioritizes classroom hours. The state mandates 1,044 educational hours. At Hurley, we set a higher standard. In the 2018-2019 school year, students at Hurley received 1,109.5 hours over the course of 163 school days,” she said.
In order to keep the instructional hours up, the school day under a four day week would be extended by 15 to 20 minutes.
The school has been considering this move for the last couple of years. In a survey of parents during parent-teacher conferences last year, the biggest concerns brought up were childcare and the quality of instruction.
Dr. Chris Johnson, Crane School District superintendent, spoke about Crane’s experience with the schedule. “Childcare seems to be a concern at the beginning, but becomes a non-issue. Whether it’s using a high schooler as a baby-sitter or finding a daycare, we haven’t had any real issue with childcare at Crane,” Dr. Johnson said.
Dr. Johnson also addressed the quality of teacher applicants. “Now we are able to compete with schools that can pay more than we can,” she said. “We used to get primarily brand-new teachers. And new teachers are great, don’t get me wrong, but we would see them move to another district once we’d helped them become great teachers. Now, we are getting experienced teachers. As you may know, there’s a teacher shortage, so we want to get the best teachers available.”
One parent in attendance asked the important question of how schools can compete as more and more schools, especially bigger schools, consider the switch. “That is something we will have to consider,” said Dr. Pope. Dr. Johnson said, “The larger the school, the more difficult it is to change the schedule and stay that way. I studied Lexington for my thesis, and they are one of the only schools I know that has returned to a traditional schedule. I think a lot of that has to do with the size of the district.”
Another benefit Dr. Johnson elaborated on was a reduction in office referrals. “In our first year with the four day week, our office referrals dropped 70% in the junior high and high school. And they’ve stayed that low,” she said.
Out of 90 surveys filled out at this year’s parent-teacher conferences, 82% of parents said they support moving to a four day week.
“I’ve taught a traditional schedule, eight-block, ten-block and other schedules. Every time there was a change, people were afraid. But I’ve always known the single most important thing for student success is good teachers. I want greatness here, in Hurley,” Dr. Pope said.
The only ‘cons,’ so to speak, that Dr. Johnson could identify was working with the schedule for next year, given the new Missouri law that mandates how early in August school can start. “That’s been a pain, but that’s the only real con I can think off. There were growing pains and adjustments that had to be made, decisions on things like VoTech, but it has all gone really well for us,” she said.
This is only the beginning of the conversation at Hurley about this change. “The school board will not adopt the calendar for next year until January at the earliest, most likely February,” Dr. Pope said. “So, there is lots of time to hear from you. If anyone wants to share anything about this proposal, please do. You can get in touch with me or with a school board member.”
About 20 parents attended a meeting about a four-day school week at Hurley on Monday night. They listened to information about the proposed switch and heard from administrators, teachers and students who have experienced the schedule, which is growing in popularity in rural school districts.
Dr. Allison Pope, Hurley superintendent, opened the meeting by telling the assembled parents, “We want to share some information with you as the board considers a four day week. We want to hear from all of you.
“This schedule switch is not a done-deal, but it is something to board is considering. With that, I want to share some information on the four day week and scheduling at Hurley,” she said.
As of this year, 61 school districts across the state have adopted a four-day school week. While the schedule was originally developed in the 1970s in western states to help save money, a number of other benefits have become apparent. It is these benefits that have drawn schools to consider the switch in greater numbers recently.
Schools who move to a four day week find improvements in attendance for both teachers and students, an improvement to the culture in the school and increased teacher retention and competitiveness when filling open teacher positions.
“The quality of the education our students receive is the board’s number one priority,” said Dr. Pope. “With that, the board also prioritizes classroom hours. The state mandates 1,044 educational hours. At Hurley, we set a higher standard. In the 2018-2019 school year, students at Hurley received 1,109.5 hours over the course of 163 school days,” she said.
In order to keep the instructional hours up, the school day under a four day week would be extended by 15 to 20 minutes.
The school has been considering this move for the last couple of years. In a survey of parents during parent-teacher conferences last year, the biggest concerns brought up were childcare and the quality of instruction.
Dr. Chris Johnson, Crane School District superintendent, spoke about Crane’s experience with the schedule. “Childcare seems to be a concern at the beginning, but becomes a non-issue. Whether it’s using a high schooler as a baby-sitter or finding a daycare, we haven’t had any real issue with childcare at Crane,” Dr. Johnson said.
Dr. Johnson also addressed the quality of teacher applicants. “Now we are able to compete with schools that can pay more than we can,” she said. “We used to get primarily brand-new teachers. And new teachers are great, don’t get me wrong, but we would see them move to another district once we’d helped them become great teachers. Now, we are getting experienced teachers. As you may know, there’s a teacher shortage, so we want to get the best teachers available.”
One parent in attendance asked the important question of how schools can compete as more and more schools, especially bigger schools, consider the switch. “That is something we will have to consider,” said Dr. Pope. Dr. Johnson said, “The larger the school, the more difficult it is to change the schedule and stay that way. I studied Lexington for my thesis, and they are one of the only schools I know that has returned to a traditional schedule. I think a lot of that has to do with the size of the district.”
Another benefit Dr. Johnson elaborated on was a reduction in office referrals. “In our first year with the four day week, our office referrals dropped 70% in the junior high and high school. And they’ve stayed that low,” she said.
Out of 90 surveys filled out at this year’s parent-teacher conferences, 82% of parents said they support moving to a four day week.
“I’ve taught a traditional schedule, eight-block, ten-block and other schedules. Every time there was a change, people were afraid. But I’ve always known the single most important thing for student success is good teachers. I want greatness here, in Hurley,” Dr. Pope said.
The only ‘cons,’ so to speak, that Dr. Johnson could identify was working with the schedule for next year, given the new Missouri law that mandates how early in August school can start. “That’s been a pain, but that’s the only real con I can think off. There were growing pains and adjustments that had to be made, decisions on things like VoTech, but it has all gone really well for us,” she said.
This is only the beginning of the conversation at Hurley about this change. “The school board will not adopt the calendar for next year until January at the earliest, most likely February,” Dr. Pope said. “So, there is lots of time to hear from you. If anyone wants to share anything about this proposal, please do. You can get in touch with me or with a school board member.”