Community weighs in on four-day school week

There will be one more opportunity for public comment before Big Horn County School Dist. No. 4 is set to vote on applying for a four-day school week beginning next school year. A recent stakeholder survey showed that 88% of responding staff and 79% of responding parents were interested in pursuing the change. 

About a dozen parents and staff members attended a special meeting regarding the proposal on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at Riverside Middle High School. Seven spoke to the school board, with suggestions moving forward, but no blatant opposition. 

Superintendent Keith Campbell opened the meeting with the district’s key reasons for suggesting a four-day week: better work-life balance, staff recruitment and retention, academic instructional benefits and improved attendance and behavior. He emphasized that cutting the week would not necessarily cut the budget, but that any savings would go back to students. 

The district has suggested keeping the same start and end dates on the school calendar, making up for the lost Friday by tacking 15-30 minutes to the beginning and end of the remaining school days. Campbell noted that the district would still provide necessary services on Fridays. 

“All of these things are up for consideration, like daycare, academic support, breakfast and lunch services, transportation to the school, special services for students who need it,” Campbell said. “We wouldn’t have as many games and activities Monday through Wednesday and try to concentrate those activities Thursday through Saturday.”

DAYCARE 

Reflecting the previous survey, a key concern expressed in public comment was daycare. Jennifer Kirk was the first to raise the issue, noting that Basin lacks childcare resources for working families and single parents. Currently, discussion has revolved around school paras working Fridays to provide those services and avoid cutting their hours.

Danae Bales relayed that she has been working with the Wyoming Business Council on finding a facility to provide daycare, possibly funded through a grant, but has been unable to find a building in Basin capable of hosting such a business. 

“Is there space within this school that could be allotted for an actual daycare center that would be able to take advantage of the meal program, of the outdoor recreation with the playground?” Bales asked the board. “Have that where it’s staffed separate from the school staff; there’s an actual daycare being run that is privately renting it from the school… having that in place would not take up the time of the teachers being babysitters, it would allow for the four-day school week, and it would still serve the need we have in our communities, because we’re in a daycare desert.”

Several commenters expressed hope that the school could partner with the Rec District to provide activities on Fridays, boosting the rec’s numbers and making sure kids have a safe space to go on Fridays if they are not at school. 

FOOD SERVICES

Jennifer Olmstead, a parent and food service provider for the school district, suggested that the district look at their lunch schedules if extending the school day. She reported that younger students are currently served around 10:45 a.m., and by adding to the school day, they would be facing a long afternoon before dinner. The school currently offers an afternoon snack for younger students. 

Olmstead, later supported by Kirk, also noted that lunch times are currently rushed for some students, particularly middle schoolers.

SPORTS, ACTIVITIES AND ACADEMICS

Parents worried that student athletes already getting home from sports practice after 6 p.m. would have even longer hours on the four-day schedule. 

Teacher and parent Niki Alexander suggested, in an opinion she thought may be unpopular with some of her fellow staff, that the district look at extending the school year calendar and keep the daily hours the same to accommodate extracurriculars. Seth Hoblit, who noted his family often got home from church around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. on Wednesdays, asked that the board investigate cutting days from breaks rather than tacking time onto the school day. 

Business Manager Trevor Whitaker, speaking as a parent, asked the school board if the current level of homework would be condensed into four days; more work at home after a longer day at school. Bales suggested Basin look at a policy some other schools have adapted: no homework at all. 

“Really, if they’re learning to the best of their ability and they’re thriving during the day, do they really need that homework also?” she asked. 

Alexander reported that staff members have already been looking into how to provide academic support on Fridays, possibly with teachers rotating days. She proposed that Fridays could be used as incentive to motivate middle and high schoolers not in activities to keep their grades up – if you get your work done, you get Friday; if not, you come in. Continuing the Beyond the Bell program, enrichment field trips and community experiences were all panned as Friday possibilities. 

Bales asked that the school partner with local businesses and community organizations to connect students with mentorships and job opportunities so Basin’s kids could learn civic leadership, soft skills, entrepreneurship on Fridays they’re not in school. 

TEACHER PERSPECTIVE

Laura Irwin Elementary teacher Brice George, who previously taught first and fifth grade on a four-day schedule in Kaycee, was for the change. 

“As a staff member, I felt like we got more out of our kids in four days than we do in five,” he addressed the board. 

 On a four-day schedule, teachers would have their professional development days scheduled for Fridays and maintain PTO hours. The state requires student-teacher hours remain the same. George pointed out that with many teachers serving as coaches, they are absent on Fridays regardless and a four-day schedule could increase seat time with students’ regular classroom teacher. 

“As a teacher, I think the ideas of a four-day school week are really exciting,” Alexander added.

School board members noted that teacher retention has been a talking point around the state.  

“It’s hard … to find housing here, to find jobs here,” board member Kristin Schlattmann said, speaking on her own behalf. Four-day weeks have shown to attract teachers. “Our best-case scenario is, we have teachers that want to and are actually able to live in this community … We have some fantastic teachers who don’t live here and that’s just the way it goes because of the way that we are situated geographically … We’ve got a lot of challenges and we want to continue making sure that we can offer the best education that we possibly can in this district.”

Campbell reported that in his recommendation to the board, he would attempt to solve as many issues presented as possible. Public comment will be open during the regularly scheduled board meeting on Tuesday after press time, with the last opportunity on March 10 at 7 p.m. before the board decides whether to pursue the change. 

An application to the state would include Basin’s goals in pursuing a four-day week, and if approved, would only be good for a year. A new application would be reviewed annually until year two, when the district could apply for a three-year application. After that, the review process would continue every five years. The application is due April 1 to be applied for next school year.