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Sizable crowd turns out to discuss four-day school weeks
Washington families seem split on issue, ahead of next month’s expected school board decision
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
WASHINGTON — Around 150 Washington school district parents and teachers attended an informational meeting Wednesday night to discuss a possible four-day school week with district administrators and board members.
Those in attendance seemed about evenly split, according to school officials who led breakout groups, spread out across the high school building.
“Out of my group, there was about a 50-50 split in favor and opposed, or at least had concerns,” said School Board President Mike Liska. “I felt like it was a great meeting, it was definitely needed, so I’m happy that we had a pretty good turnout.”
Arguments in favor include mental health, possible hiring boost
Several said they were optimistic about the potential mental health benefits for teachers and students alike, who would have more days off to rest and recharge between demanding days of class.
“I find it interesting to hear the perceived benefit of teacher well-being and mental health,” said one community member in a breakout group. “A three-day weekend every weekend, when I worked in the school system a couple decades ago, I would have really loved to have a third day, that really stood out to me.”
Although the change would make every school day about 30 minutes longer, Kindergarten Teacher Dana Bangs said she saw the extra time as an upside, not an obstacle for students.
“One of the things I talk with my team about is … bringing a love of learning back,” Bangs said. “There’s so many requirements for time that we are moving from academics to academics. And the extra time (in a day) would be able to bring us, maybe, more time to enjoy coming to school, and have extra fun activities. Right now, we do not have that time, most of the time.”
Some school officials have touted the proposal as a way to hire more teachers, arguing the shorter work week might attract professionals with little cost to the schools. While academic studies on the matter are inconclusive, anecdotal accounts from smaller four-day districts nearby like Highland and WACO suggest teachers were easier to hire going into the year with a four-day schedule.
Advocates argued the improvement to students’ and teachers’ well-being would make them more effective in the classroom, and reduce disruptive behaviors that some blame for high turnover rates among educators.
Hiring and retention concerns are pressing, given an ongoing shortage of educators in rural Iowa schools.
“This year, high school Spanish is open, high school math is open, high school Strat II is open, Lincoln Strat II is open, and we have someone in the pre-K that’s almost double their number in special ed, they’re doing over-coverage,” Superintendent Willie Stone said. “It is putting great stress on them.”
Proponents offered a handful of other arguments in favor of four-day weeks. Some said the extra time off — likely on Fridays rather than Mondays — would give students a chance to take full weekday shifts at work, earning money and valuable job experience. And others noted the free time would make it easier to schedule doctor and dentist appointments that would otherwise make pupils miss class.
Skeptics worry most about day care
By and far, the most frequently heard concern around the building was the issue of child care on days off school.
Many commentators expressed concern over the cost of child care under a four-day week, while most parents still have to work five.
“The average cost per kid is usually about 50 bucks a day, or even more,” said community member John Woodward. “I’ve got two kids, so you’re talking hundreds of dollars more a month, just to take care of my two kids, at a certain level … I certainly am not blind to the fact that it could be very advantageous to our school system, I certainly get why we’re looking at it, I would just ask the board to really think about that cost, everything else we’ve had to deal with.”
While older students can take care of themselves and their siblings on Fridays, younger ones can’t. On top of a well-documented child care shortage in Southeast Iowa, in-home day care providers that do exist seldom accept school-age kids.
Other districts reported families arranging their own child care, leaving younger students with older ones in the family, or neighborhood. But for households that can’t make such arrangements, some families could be left high and dry if the schools adopt a four-day model while parents still have to work five.
“My kids are in preschool, second grade and fourth grade, I don’t feel like they’re old enough to stay home by themselves,” said community member Katee Vittetoe. “Some fourth and fifth graders, they may go home for a couple hours by themselves, OK, they can survive that long. But a whole nine hours by themselves? I don’t think so.”
Like those in the pro camp, community members skeptical of the four-day model had a smattering of less unified concerns as well.
One, among rural parents, stemmed from bus rides: for students furthest from the schools who board the bus earlier each morning and get off later every night, the longer days could prove taxing. Others worried the shorter weeks would inadequately prepare students for the workforce, or disrupt needed time with specialists for those with IEPs.
The district said it had one concern already figured out: early discussions in Washington had officials worried about students who rely on schools for free and reduced lunch and breakfast. While some worried families would struggle with food insecurity absent those meals, Superintendent Willie Stone said arrangements would be made with local nonprofits to offset the issue.
“We are working with HACAP to look at the possibilities,” he said. “One of them is having a backpack program where we would be able to give out food for three days … possibly creating a food bank here in the buildings, and other ideas.”
School board could go either way
Members of Washington’s school board are expected to make some kind of decision on the four-day school week at their regular meeting Feb. 12.
They also plan on having a work session the week prior, to hash out some of the details and respond to feedback, and will release an FAQ sheet addressing unanswered questions posed at Wednesday night’s meeting later this month. On Jan. 29, the schools will send out a survey to staff and enrolled families to gather more input on the proposal.
In the meantime, officials say they’re still interested in any other thoughts community members have about the proposal.
“If you guys have a comment and want to get a hold of a board member, you know how, our emails are on the school district website,” School Board Member Brendan DeLong said. “We can report it back to the full board and start discussing. We need to hear from lots of people.”
There are multiple possible outcomes of that Feb. 12 meeting. Board members could either give four-day school weeks the thumbs-up for the 2025-26 school year, or give it a thumbs-down for the foreseeable future. Decision-makers may also end up postponing their vote, a move that would likely delay the schedule’s implementation for at least another year.
Until then, Washington’s future academic schedules are anyone’s guess.
“I hear multiple people say, ‘The decision’s already made.’ Anybody that tells you that is lying,” Superintendent Stone said. “We don’t have a decision made yet, because we’re waiting to get your input.”
Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com
