Survey response leads Belle Plaine to consider 4-day school calendar

BELLE PLAINE — The results of a community survey has prompted Belle Plaine Community School District to consider a four-day school week next year.

The District will conduct one or two public forums in the next few weeks to hear the opinions of parents, teachers and community members, Superintendent Chad Straight said Thursday.

The idea came from parents, teachers and community members initially, said Straight. “Our community brought it up in a survey last year,” he said.

The survey sought feedback on infrastructure and academics, said Straight. A four-day school week was one of several subjects on the survey, and it received a significant positive response, he said.

The School Improvement Advisory Committee, which consists of parents, community members, teachers and students, recommended that the district present the idea to the board, Straight said, and the board has discussed it several times.

The school board presented information about a four-day week to staff members during the Dec. 19 school board meeting, according to the meeting minutes.

They discussed contract days, academic trends, day care situations, teacher work days, sports days and potential conflicts.

For the most part, response from SIAC has been positive, said Straight.

While there might be some savings from not running buses or having the school open five days a week, “That’s not why we’re considering it,” Straight said. Superintendents in school districts with four-day weeks tell Straight that they are fully staffed for the first time, he said.

“Hiring approves. It’s easier to find teachers and other staff members.”

Belle Plaine is short one preschool instructor, has no STEM teacher this year and couldn’t find a long-term art teacher, Straight said.

The four-day week isn’t a benefit for district staffing only. Students and parents see a benefit as well, said Straight. “[They] seem to think it’s a good balance of work life and home and family.”

The Belle Plaine school board will probably make a decision in March whether or not to move forward with a four-day school calendar, said Straight. The public will have several opportunities to give their opinions before that time, he said.

Missouri

Four-day school weeks have become so common in Missouri that its legislators have become concerned.

Four-day weeks have been an option for Missouri schools since 2011, according to an article published by The Missouri Independent, in January 2024.

At that time, more than 30% of the state’s districts, serving about 11% of the state’s students, had four-day weeks.

A study on the four-day school week found no statistically significant effect on either academic achievement or building growth, according to the article.

Districts that switched before the pandemic were more likely to be rural, while districts embracing four-day weeks now are likely to be in towns, have multiracial populations and have more foster students, The Independent said.

Jon Turner, an associate professor at Missouri State University who researches the four-day school week, was not surprised that the department found little to no effect on academic achievement.

“It is pretty consistent nationwide,” he told The Independent. “As you protect instructional hours, there is a minimal if any negative academic impact.”

The research he has studied has shown that the four-day week does not diminish academics so long as the instructional hours remain constant.

In Iowa

Iowa Code requires school districts and accredited non-public schools to choose between 180 days or 1,080 hours of instruction in a school year.

The state sets no minimum or maximum length of day for districts that measure hours.

According to a December article by Iowa Public Radio, six Iowa school districts operated on four-day schedules during the 2023-24 school year. Another 12 adopted the schedule for 2024-25.

Iowa school districts with four-day school calendars according to the Iowa Department of Education are Cardinal Community School District, Central Decatur Community School District, East Union Community School District, Highland Community School District, Keota Community School District, Martensdale-St Marys Community School District and Melcher-Dallas Community School District.

Also Moravia Community School District, Mormon Trail Community School District, Moulton-Udell Community School District, Murray Community School District, North Iowa Community School District, Saydel Community School District, Seymour Community School District, Sidney Community School District, Twin Cedars Community School District, WACO Community School District and Winfield-Mt Union Community School District.