photo by: Sylas May

Story updated at 4:35 p.m. Friday, April 21:

The Lawrence school board will soon discuss the possibility of the district adopting a four-day school week for students.

As part of its meeting Monday, the board will receive a report on the district’s efforts to retain and recruit teachers. The recommendation for a four-day school week for students and a five-day work week for teachers will be discussed as part of teacher retention and recruitment efforts.

A four-day school week for students has been discussed by the district Calendar Committee as well as the Futures Planning Committee, which the district set up to come up with a recommendation for budget reductions. The Calendar Committee previously voted unanimously to recommend the change to a four-day student/five-day staff week, and will present its recommendation as part of Monday’s meeting.

photo by: USD 497

A presentation slide for the school board’s meeting Monday shows a typical four-day calendar.

Presentation materials discuss Monday as the day students don’t attend school, citing that there are already six federal holidays on Monday. The change would eliminate early release Wednesday and “unpredictable no-school days” for parent-teacher conferences, planning and professional development.

The school board previously approved a regular school calendar with a five-day school week for students and teachers for next school year, so Monday’s discussion would be for the 2024-2025 school year or beyond. District spokesperson Julie Boyle said the presentation is just a report on the committee’s work and no board action is expected as part of Monday’s meeting.

When the Futures Planning Committee held public meetings to discuss its draft budget recommendation, which included the possibility of a four-day school week, the possibility was a key point of concern for parents. The Futures Planning Committee did not end up recommending a four-day school week for the upcoming school year, with 53% of the committee members voting against it. Some of the considerations the Futures Planning Committee included in comments related to the proposal were that more research was needed to determine impact on student learning outcomes; that the negative and positive public input needed to be considered; and that the currently limited availability of child care and the expanded need for it if a four-day school week were implemented needed to be considered, among other considerations.

The Calendar Committee, which is made up of district administrators, teachers and district staff, is recommending the change as a way to attract and retain teachers and as a way to save money for the district, according to presentation materials. The district anticipates the schedule would save money on substitute teachers and transportation; after-school meeting stipends; extra staff pay for after-hours meetings and work; and would likely eliminate the need for the second planning time for middle school teachers. Both benefits and barriers of a four-day school week from the perspective of teachers and students will be presented.

Regarding staff recruitment and retention, presentation materials state that the district currently has 145 staff openings and experienced increased resignations from teachers and other certified staff last school year. Other “problems to be solved” noted in the presentation include inequitable plan time provided for teachers across different grade levels. For teachers, listed benefits of a four-day school week include attracting and retaining teachers; providing more time for teachers to plan and collaborate; improving morale and academic quality of teaching; providing more time for staff professional development; and providing a better work/life balance.

As the Journal-World reported in June 2022, 141 teachers and other certified staff left their positions last school year, representing an increase of more than 2.5 times the number of resignations since the 2019-2020 school year. Lindsay Buck, then the president of the local teachers’ union, the Lawrence Education Association, said at the time that contributors to the resignations included compensation for teachers, uncertainty surrounding district budget cuts, teacher workloads, increased challenges as students returned to the classroom following the pandemic, and proposed state legislation that undermined teachers and funding for public schools.

Benefits for students cited in the presentation include higher attendance rates, a better work/life balance, and an extra day for students to seek opportunities, such as job shadowing, dual credit programs and volunteering.

Barriers to a four-day school week for students include reduced access to school lunches, more time over the weekend to forget what they learned and increased risk to children’s safety on the weekday without school. The presentation notes that “some families struggle to find childcare,” with elementary-aged children and students receiving special education services listed as the most impacted. Regarding student learning, the presentation states that “maintaining instructional time is critical.”

Considerations noted by the committee include providing care and meals to “students in need” on Mondays. Under the heading “solidifying available Monday support,” the presentation calls for engaging a list of community partners such as the Boys & Girls Club, Lawrence Arts Center, Lawrence Parks and Recreation and others. In response to whether the district has confirmed whether Boys & Girls Club, which currently provides before- and after-school care at many of the district’s schools, would be able to provide care on Mondays, Boyle said the district has had preliminary discussions about the concept with the Boys & Girls Club and other community partners that provide children’s programs and services. She said since many Boys & Girls Club staff members are University of Kansas students, they would not be available during their own school day to provide a full-day children’s program.

Another consideration is a survey of students, staff and families. Boyle said should the board decide that it wants to further study the alternative calendar concept, one of the district’s next steps would be to gather feedback about the concept from the community. She said this could include feedback about the day of the week that might work best and feedback about ways the community could support the needs of children and families.

The Lawrence school board will meet at 6 p.m. on Monday at district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.