Changing the school week to four days instead of five is a trend that’s quickly spreading across the country.
On the positive side: Many teachers and administrators love having continuous three-day weekends. Stay at home parents like having a free weekday for doctor visits and running errands. And it does seem to save some money (although surprisingly little).
On the negative side: The change is often tough on lower-income parents, who have trouble paying childcare for the days their kids don’t attend school. Also, low-income students rely on public schools for almost half their meals — breakfast and lunch during the week — so there are health and nutrition issues involved. And some studies show that a truncated week has a negative impact on learning for low-income students.
To date, there is little peer-reviewed research on this topic. However, this article contains abstracts and links to the most notable studies so far.
One caution: As with many topics these days, confirmation bias is a very real danger. Many will read this article and only extract the portions that support their pre-existing views (or simply doing what they want, regardless of the consequences to students). But serious educators who truly care about what is best for their students should challenge themselves to explore this topic with an open mind.
Just sayin’ … : )