Deseret News | State School Board to be strict on requests for 4-day weeks

Reader comments
State School Board to be strict on requests for 4-day weeks

Bad idea | 4:53 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

This is a bad idea as time in school needs to be short but often. Increasing the hours a day students sit in a class can be detrimental to what can be learned. Trying to save on utility bills is not worth the damage in the students ability to remain an attentive class. Even adults have a hard time being in any training classes or schools for more than 6 hours in a day. The ability to learn will suffer and quality of learning will produce even more illiterates from Utah schools.

Great Idea | 7:13 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I am a davis county parent. I wish they would go to 4 day school week here. It makes sense to me and I would suspect that kids learn just as much. They people who will be against it are the families where both spouses work and don't want their kids to be home.... School is not a sitter. I am all for the 4 day school week and would like to see the state school board lay off and let all the districts in the state pursue the 4 day school week.

Anonymous | 7:43 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

The State Board is one of the biggest problems with education. They are worse than the legislature. The State Board should be abolished.

Let local board have the flexibility to meet the needs of students. A 5-day school week is just a archaic tradition.

Comments continue below

Anonymous | 7:50 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I don't think the State Board even knows what their own rule says regarding school days

Milo P Otis | 8:34 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

With children out of school on Friday - I would have to drop off my two (21 and 18.5 yrs old) at a day care center at a cost to me! There are costs on both sides.

Are there any busses running on compressed natural gas rather than diesel?

Schools Are Now Babysitters | 8:35 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I live and teach in rural eastern Arizona, where we have bus routes that are very long and costly for daily routes and competition travel. We have done the math, and we would save $250,000 just by going to the 4-day school day. The only credible reason for not going to a 4-day week is because of child care. On the other hand we would drastically reduce the time out of school because of competition travel. Our state school board is also resistant to going to a 4 day school week. In my mind this shows that schools have become babysitters rather than educators to a great degree. Sure working parents need options for taking care of their children, but why should schools be responsible for this. This issue goes along with full-day kindergarten. There is no educational research that substantiates the advantage for full-day kindergarten - and quite the opposite - but this is being forced down schools throats. Everyone wants services, but no one wants to pay for them

Money | 9:12 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

The argument on daycare in urban settings is bogus. Schools, whether private, charter or public are not daycare centers. It is the responsibility of the parent or parents to take care of their child, not the public school system. If a four day school week would save money locally then it should be considered. If it can be met and maintain or improve school performance, lets try it. If it's an issue for parent(s), let them decide if they want their taxes increased to pay for "school daycare."

Fred | 10:04 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

School districts should have a good reason to ask for a 4 day school week? How about a potential 15% cut in funding, a four day week will save money. Sometimes these folks really frighten me with their apparent inability to grasp the obvious. All of us need to wake and see the reality of this current economic situation. School districts are going to be forced to try and save every nickle and dime they can save, and even with that, class sizes will have to go up dramatically, some programs will have to be cut, others will have to reduced. Before everyone jumps on the get rid of high priced administrators band wagon, that won't even begin to fill the financial shortfall we are looking at. I would hope that district offices would trim back before they look to the classroom, but the classroom will not escape cuts. Please lets get real right now, and do everything we can to minimize the cuts to public education. The 15% that is being proposed by the republican legislative leadership, will cripple our public education system.

Pay for what you use | 11:58 a.m. Jan. 18, 2009

The state school board just admitted it!! Parents need a 5 day school week for child care reasons.

I didn't know that are schools are now "officially" viewed as daycare centers.

Re Milo P Otis: Heaven forbid that you have to pay for daycare for your own children. Isn't that a consequence of having children--paying for them? Isn't that capitalism--paying for what you use and consume? Isn't socialism where you ask someone else to pay for what you use and consume? The problem with education funding is that we give more and more tax breaks through child income credits--thereby rewarding people to consume when they should be paying more for consuming those services. What is even more ironic is that the people who complain the most about paying for education are the ones who are using the system--a large majority of which don't pay enough taxes to educate even one child.

Re: Pay for What You Use | 12:52 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

A lot of schools, especially high schools, offer day care programs to younger kids (preschool) or for special needs students. It's really not uncommon.The day cares are much more affordable than a private facility.

While school is not a daycare itself, afterschool programs are great alternatives to pricey private care centers.

junior high teacher | 3:49 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

With the advent of 90-minute class periods, I am convinced that kids just don't have the ability to make it through a longer school day. Even though the 90 minute periods are good for production-type classes such as cooking and shop, 90 minute periods just too long for academic classes. Let's not make it harder on the kids than it is already.

Middle School teacher | 4:27 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I have to agree. The 90 minute block periods are torture for 12 year old kids. No one likes them or thinks they are productive except the administrators that have to do the scheduling.

Every bit of research and study on adolescents will show that short periods of instructions are much better for learning.

Convenience shouldn't run the schedule!

Local Control | 6:00 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I thought this state believed in good right wing values like small government. I guess I was wrong. Telling Districts what they can and can't do is Socialism. I say we remove from office all the members of the Board who supported this leftist proposal. They have no right to tell my local district how many days a week they should have. If my local district decides to lessen the days and it fails then the local School Board will not be reelected. Those crazies at the State level need to mind their own business and stay out of local issues.

American schools | 6:49 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

If America wants to compete with much of the world, then students need to go to school for 220 days a year and for more hours in the day. In Japan, students go to school from 7 until 4:00. In America, we talk about torturing kids by making them go to school longer. Like I've said in previous posts, the problem with public education in America is the public. We shouldn't even be talking about shortening the school week or school day.

teacing elevated | 8:58 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

Wow at least teaching is a babysitting service. I wonder if they will pay me $3 per hour per 30 kids, like a babysitter? I would make six times what I make now. Oh wait, I am a TEACHER not a babysitter. One day maybe, I will be valued at least as much as a babysitter...

to the guessers | 8:58 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

All of you sound just like the state you think and you think but you don't know.May be its time to try new things and look how to pay for SCHOOLS and use the time the best for kids, kids are very strong these days and I;m going to guess that the kids will do what they need to do. The kids can go to school on a four day if we the parents help them and be part of their education. Its funny how all the parent go to teacher -- parent night till the kids are in jr. high and high school then the parents stop going. Last thing what do parents do with their kid in the summer and christmas times? Parent don't need the schools on Fridays.

Counselor | 9:17 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

The refusal to change to a 4 day school week is an interesting thing. Just stop and realize that in the end it has nothing to do with the school board. It is all about the Parents (for good and bad). The refusal of a 4 day school week is only the admitting to the fact that parents really only see teachers and school as a great babysitter. Most parents would not know how to handle their own children for more time than they already have them. So if that is all we are are glorified babysitters, then by golly pay us as babysitters. Lets see that would be 4 dollars an hour, times 30 students, times 8 hours. That would be about 4800 dollars a week, times the 180 day school year. man that adds up to some good money. I am up for that.

Nanny State | 10:13 p.m. Jan. 18, 2009

I propose that despite the budget downturn school should run 6 days per week, 10 hours per day. Pre-school should begin at 2 yrs old, unless parents request early admission, which will be automatically allowed. In additional, all homework and feeding should take place at school. This will allow parents sufficient time to golf, get their nails done, visit the salon, and generally dump on the rest of society during school hours. Perhaps for a small, highly subsidized fee, the state could provide "night care" for children whose parents want some quiet time at home for stimulating conversation like "where's the remote" and "I'd buy a vowel Vanna!"

Of course, going to a 4-day school week can immediately save 5% of total budgets ($150M-$200M). It has also been shown to reduce student and teacher absenteeism, increase teacher satisfaction, improve learning. Now you see why it's such a bad idea. Students do better. Teachers are happier. Taxpayers are rewarded. But parents must now become parents. And administrators and bureaucrats must stop being enablers.

Are you kidding me? | 12:58 a.m. Jan. 19, 2009

Brilliant. Putting the woes of extracurricular activities and sports ahead of academics and our children's ability to compete in a 21st century global economy. I'd certainly rather have my child letter in football instead of have a high enough ACT score to get into a good University and obtain the skills necessary to bring home a decent paycheck and actually be able to contribute to society. I also feel really good about having my child sitting in school for extra hours in the day so they can have Friday off. I guess quantity is more important than quality. Parents wake up! It's time you took control of your child's education and demand the excellence that is lacking. Compared to other industrialized countries our education system is pathetic. Where are our priorities! Get informed and empowered with the facts and demand better from the monopoly.

Dirty little secret | 1:29 a.m. Jan. 19, 2009

. . . is that the state school board's "permission" is not required. If a district decides, for reasons it believes to be sufficient, to go to a four-day week, there is nothing the state school board can do to prevent it.

Here's hoping districts will have the guts to stand up on their hind legs and tell the state board to peddle its wares elsewhere.

Love it! | 11:13 a.m. Jan. 19, 2009

I live in a rural community in southeastern utah. Fridays are complete WASTE! The majority of students are gone on Fridays to activities or sporting events, leaving teachers to choose not to teach anything on those days. Instead students watch movies, play games or have a 'reading" or makeup day. What a waste of my tax dollars!! Substitutes are the norm on Fridays as most teachers are the coaches or advisors to these groups. Get a CLUE! Four days weeks would greatly improve my childs education and alleviate Fridays as a waste of time!

Re: Are you kidding me? | 3:08 p.m. Jan. 19, 2009

I am talking about cutting money from the budget when we have a 4-day school week, not simply "Putting the woes of extracurricular activities and sports ahead of academics". In my state, Arizona, the State is talking about cutting as much as 25% of our schools budgets. Extracurricular programs, to a certain degree fund themselves. We are trying to keep needed programs and limit class sizes. Yes we will have longer school days, but at least we won't have 35-40 students per class if we lose teachers

I like the idea | 6:35 a.m. Jan. 20, 2009

And then entrepreneurial sorts can open up Friday day care businesses, and everybody's happy. That sounds like a win-win to me.

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