ROCK SPRINGS — So far, the opinion appears close to unanimous that the four-day school week is working for Sweetwater County School District (SCSD) No. 1 and should continue for the foreseeable future.

The advantages that have been cited more than once include time now being allowed for more and better teacher and staff professional development, better student responsibility for their learning, longer classes, more time for students to be with their families, more time for older students to gain work experience on the three-day weekends, athletes not missing class time on Fridays, less teacher and staff burnout, easier time recruiting and retaining top-quality teachers, and all this with no discernible drop in student performance following COVID disruptions.

Support from the community for the four-day school week has been widespread, according to Pilot Butte Elementary School (fourth through sixth grades) Principal Nancy Torstenbo. The decision by SCSD No. 1 was not made in a vacuum, but rather was an outflow of research done on school districts in Midwestern states and Colorado which had previously gone to a four-day schedule. “Surveys in Colorado showed 80-90 percent parent satisfaction” with the four-day school week in places where it had been instituted, Tostenbo said.

The Pilot Butte principal added that the school day there runs from 8:05 a.m. to 3 p.m. and includes all of the subjects that had been taught under the five-day curriculum: English Language Arts (“ELA”), mathematics, social studies, science, P.E. and so on. The four-day school week has proven to be a way to attract and retain high-quality teachers, Torstenbo explained, with burnout reduced. Teachers can make use of that fifth day, Friday, for professional development and planning.

Community Support

The co-principals at Eastside Elementary School (fourth through sixth grades), Tina Searle and Karl Wells, Ph.D, agreed that feedback to the 4-day school week has been largely positive.

“We’ve had strong community support,” Wells said.

“And we appreciate that,” Searle added.

Searle and Wells explained that support from the community for the current school schedule has meant that there is a real partnership between the school district and the community, including local businesses.

The co-principals agreed that teacher retention and job satisfaction have benefited from the 4-day school week. With the 4-day week and Fridays available for professional development,

Searle said she has seen an increase in teachers collaborating with one another, more so than perhaps was the case in the past when there was no express planning day during the school week.

Whatever school schedule strategy is followed, “nothing replaces teachers,” Wells emphasized.

On Fridays if there are no conferences or professional development scheduled, Wells said that he and Searle encourage teachers to take time to do something for themselves.

“We want (the teachers) to slow down, and take care of personal business,” Searle said.

Wells acknowledged that a handful of students may have expressed concerns about the greater challenge under a four-day school week involved with retaining knowledge over a three-day weekend rather than a two-day weekend. Wells’ response to that was to explain that students need to take some responsibility.
“Students need to be immersed in learning and take ownership of their learning, and be 100 percent engaged with their learning,” Wells said.

The overwhelming majority of students interviewed expressed strong support for the 4-day school week and are hoping that it continues. Eastside has the same 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. schedule as Pilot Butte.

Successful Adjustments

“There were a lot of unknowns at the start,” Rock Springs Junior High School Principal Kris Cundall said. Still, there were ideas expressed about how to best use a four-day or four-and-a-half day school week. “We desperately needed more time for professional development” for teachers and staff, Cundall explained.

Now, that needed training time is available, and is particularly beneficial to the newer teachers on staff, although all teachers benefit.

There are between 750 and 770 students at the junior high, the principal said, depending on how many students are moving in or out of town. The junior high is divided up into five different “teams” composed of teachers and students: Grand Teton, Veedavoo, Wind River, Yellowstone, and Old Faithful.

Students likewise benefit from the extra time available on Fridays from 8-11 a.m. at the junior high.

“There’s more time for academic intervention, small group help,” Cundall said. “There’s more data about which kids need better help.”

The junior high operates on an 8 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. four-day schedule, although Cundall said that the school is “hopping with activities” until about 5:30 p.m., with not only sports practices, but also activities such as the fitness club, robotics, kindness club, and academic support.

Cundall was particularly proud of the fact that the RS junior high students have not allowed themselves to be as negatively impacted as much by the COVID disruptions as some other school districts have been, where seriously challenging scenarios have occurred. Some schools in other districts have been largely closed for in-building activities for one or even two years, and students now returning to the classroom in those districts have not only been far behind academically, but also behavior-wise after extensive time at home on their own. RSJHS WYTOPP scores, however, have maintained steady figures.

“In some other places (coming out of COVID) it has been a conduct, behavior, and academics nightmare,” Cundall said.

It all goes back to what Eastside’s Wells said, that students need to take ownership of their learning.

Editor’s Note: This is the first article in a three-part series exploring Sweetwater County School District No. 1’s four-day school week.