Though overall teacher turnover increased in districts that moved to four-day school weeks, morale and retention rates improved due to the reduced workweek, according to a new report from Keystone Policy Center.
"Doing Less with Less: How a Four-Day School Week Affects Student Learning and the Teacher Workforce" examines the implications and outcomes of the increasingly popular shortened week across various school districts in Colorado, which has 119 four-day districts representing 14% of the state’s student population.
The report gives a quantitative and qualitative analysis of the benefits and challenges of an abbreviated calendar — particularly considering many districts face budget constraints, teacher shortages, and need more flexibility in educational delivery.
Conversely, the report noted that districts must contend with the mixed effects of schedule changes for families regarding childcare and access to school-based services.
"This report not only highlights why many districts choose this model, hoping to save costs and increase teacher retention, but shows the actual impact in terms of lower student performance, childcare challenges and higher teacher turnover in four-day school districts,” said Van Schoales, senior policy director at Keystone Policy Center. “Our goal is to provide policymakers with the tools and information they need to navigate this complex issue."