Reader comments
4-day school week a hit in Rich

To say it wouldn't work in urban districts because of child care issues is equivalent to saying that our urban schools = babysitting services.

Of course it would work in urban areas. Just like it does in summer. Parents have to adjust but it would work.

Babysitting should not be the focus of the decision.

This sounds like a bad idea. I am self employed and this kind of schedule would never work for me or anyone I know who is employed with their own business. This is just another way for teachers to get more money for less work.(again) Kinda looks like the goal here. Another thing - If the state keeps giving more money and benefits for less work, then how is the real American dream supposed to compete. Maybe we should just have the government take over everything like my construction company and then we can all have 4 day work weeks with all benefits and don�t forget summers off. I think it�s a problem when you can make more money in less time working for the government than being employed for yourself or private company. ( It's cool to stay in school - you can do it government workers - we all do. )/

I can think of a few better ways to save money than this. How about booting the lazy employees for starters. Wait, this is an opportunity for government to spend more money, we should all be celebrating.

To Just Some Guy:
Some in the construction industry are already doing the four 10's, and like it. Others in the oil industry are doing 7 days on and 7 off, 8 days on, 6 off, and 14 days on and 14 days off, etc.

There's no reason to criticize an employer (in this case, the State) for trying to be more efficient and doing what may work.

I find it interesting the comments about teachers getting paid the same and only having to work four days. Wow they are really raking in the big bucks now! The teachers I know bring work home many nights as they have to check, correct, and grade their student's homework. All of this without extra pay. One thing the article doesn't mention is if the school day has been lengthened to make up for the fifth day. At first read I assumed we were looking at 10 hour days as there were also references to the states 4-day work week.

I think it would work in urban areas, too. It seems like the savings in gasoline alone, from cutting 20% of the bus routes each year, would be worth it--but it would also save on utilities and the staff needed for food services in all the schools. We need to find ways to cut costs since the state budget gets tighter each year. The extra day off could be used to offer services to support students who are behind or those who want to get ahead.

I'm unclear--do these Rich County school days last longer? If not, how can they say the students are getting what they need by cutting out 20 percent of class time?

Well it looks like you have hit an all-time low! YOU ARE JEALOUS OF A SCHOOL TEACHER!!! Haha, how can you be jealous, and take shots at people who make a whopping $35k a year. I'm sorry your privately owned business must be in the tank, but if your that desperate school districts hire year round!!!! Or is the real truth your in a privately owned business because you knew to much to go to college?? fact or fiction? probably fact! Does "im self-employed" really mean im unemployed but i don't want anyone to know? And the truth is shown!

When I was in school 15 years ago we did the 4 day week. I think it was a good idea. Kids were in school more we all got better grades. If kids needed a little bit of extra help they were able to go in on Friday from 8-11 and get the one-on-one. All sports were scheduled on Fridays, but I think it also helped the parents because if they were going out of town they planned it for Friday and the kids did not have to make up any work. A 4 day school week if benificial in every way possible

About 4 months ago the local paper (Nephi Times) printed out a list of teachers and administrators yearly incomes MANY MANY were way OVER 35k so possibly your 35k earners are working for the wrong school district. Personally I think a 4 day school week would work well for my son he would be more likely to attend regularly and yes attendance is a problem for him and me.

The school days are lengthened a half hour or more to make up for the time of Fridays. Also there is a period of 3 hours 8-11 in which teachers are expected to be at school either helping those students who need additional help or preparing for the next week. Students really are in class more when all the activities are scheduled for the weekend. It is not uncommon in the little schools to have 3 or 4 days in a row where students miss a couple of hours to attend activities. It is difficult for the school and students. By moving activities to only 2 days districts could schedule both boys and girls activities together to save on transportation cost. Just a thought.

I would support a 4 day school week for my children. I think it would be an adjustment for childcare, but I like the idea of 4 longer days and no short day! I think short day is a waste of a day anyway. I remember being in school and all of our class periods were shortened and we treated short day like a party day.

It is plain to see that most of previous comments don't know diddly squat about what they are commenting on. Here in Wyoming we have at least one district that has been running a four day week for year with great success. And to you cry babies whining because you have to work 5 days aweek, I'm not sure how Rich's schedule runs, but here the teachers work the 5 days. They are either having inservice training, grading papers, or tudoring students that need extra help on fridays. Maybe before you all start complaining you should go into a regular class room on a friday and see how many students are gone because of sports and other extra curricular activities. I have been married to an English Teach for over 30 years and during that time I wish I had a dollar for every evening she spent at home grading papers for your students that can't write and in alot of cases have no interest in learning. And by the way when did school become baby sitters?

Of course the day is longer if they only go 4 days.

I think the requirement used to be 990 hours or 180 days.

It would be great for the kids and I'd love the extra time I could spend with my kids with a 3 day weekend every week!

I taught on a four day week for several years and there are benefits, the greatest being that when school was in session the kids were there as opposed to being on a bus traveling to some extracurricular activity 200 miles away. The state mandates 990 hours of classroom time. This means that the school day must be lengthened in order to meet the needed number of hours. Under the traditional 5 day system students could miss, in some cases, as much as 10-15% of class time engaging in sports, drama, and other activities. The 4 day week mandates that all activities be held on Friday and Saturday, eliminating this missed class time. Since urban schools tend to travel shorter distances, the benefit would not be as great for them.

To just some guy: The hours work out the same down to the minute. In fact I can honestly say from my experience that the 5 day week was far less taxing on me physically and mentally that the longer days of the four day week. I needed every minute of the long weekend just to get ready for Monday morning. But, yes the extra day off was nice.

Let's see: My daughter gets $3 per hour per kid for babysitting. Average class size in Utah is around 32 students most years and they go to school for 990 hours. 32x3x990= $95,040/yr. Thanks to my public education I can do the Math. Where can I sign up?

Wow, where I live (in CA), kids get $7 to $10 an hour for babysitting. You Utah parents are cheap!

I think that a 4 day school week would work well in the secondary schools, but not for elementary schools. I teach an extended day kindergarten class and have 5 and 6 year olds who really struggle with being at school for 8 hours. I couldn't imagine keeping them there for an additional 2! Young children don't have the attention span to sit in a classroom for that long. Keep the 4 day school week in the secondary system.

As for all of you ragging on all us poor school teachers who get the summers off, you try being a teacher! It isn't an easy job working on average 60 hours a week (with all the take home grading and lesson prep) for 36 weeks! We are very deserving of our summers off! We also have to work very hard to increase our salaries, money is rarely just handed to us. New teachers in my district start just under 36K a year, and have to work very hard taking professional development courses and graduate school classes to increase their yearly pay, which is also very time consuming.

Visit your child's school. You might learn to appreciate their teachers hard work!

I haven't worked a 5 day work week for years. Sometimes it was 3 12 hour shifts, now I work a 24 and a 16 hour shift. It's great to have 5 days off in my work week. I've always learned to adjust and I had a child. If you haven't figured out all the costs for having children, and that includes day care or being a stay-at-home parent, then you shouldn't be having children. If I've had to pay for child care, I budgeted it in. At one point I quit my job because it was more expensive to work than to stay home. Learning to adjust is the best way to keep a job. I predict that in a year most people will really like the four day work weeks and find them much more productive.

Who do you think takes the long bus rides with the kids from rural schools on Fridays and Saturdays? Who coaches the kids? Teachers do. With a longer school day Mon-Th, all practices just start later every day.

This is all just to save fuel and utility costs. Many teachers will hate a 4 day week because they will have to work harder to stay caught up. They will end up working on Fridays anyway. You can bet the heat or air conditioning won't be turned on on Fridays for teachers that need the day to stay prepared and check assignments.