Students and Faculty can all relate to the feeling of exhaustion when the week is over and Friday is here. What if I told you there is a chance we could make our weeks shorter and our weekends longer?
On December 16th, 2023, Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) had a meeting to consider if they should start doing four-day school weeks within the whole county to save money.
At first, I wanted to agree with the four-day school week, but I concluded that I just cannot. The reason I do not agree with the four-day school week is because of the unsuccessful attempt at Blanche Ely High.
Blanche Ely High is a school in Broward County, located in Pompano Beach. In the late 1990s and the early 2000s, the high school tried the four-day school system. During their attempt, the school was still consistently a D-rated school.
With a four-day school week, students would attend school from Monday through Thursday, with an optional fifth day for extended learning opportunities, but there is a catch.
Since our weeks are shorter, they made our days longer. Broward County would be extending our days from our regular seven-hour day to eight and a half hours.
However, there is a school who has been doing the four-day school week with good outcomes. That school is Pompano Beach High.
Pompano Beach High has been using this system since 1997. This school is the only one in Broward County ranked among the State’s Top 25 and Nation Top 300. It is also a consistent A-rated school with a graduation rate of 100%.
Pompano Beach High uses their optional fifth day to give students opportunities to volunteer, take SAT preparation courses, or to work internships.
BCPS wants this change in order to save money. District staff has found that using the four-day schedule would reduce some expenses for things such as bus drivers, fuel, electricity, and aide salaries. Broward County staff calculated they could save up to $1.7 million if they only make the change to high schools, the Palm Beach Post reported.
Also, if they reduce the expenses of bus drivers and aides, then they will be making less money. As a school bus driver in Broward County, you are only making $16.64 an hour, which could be anywhere from $20K- $60K a year. As an aide (teacher’s assistant) in Broward County, your salary could range between $30K-$41K a year.
Parents rely on schools for certain things. For example, some student’s families cannot afford a proper meal. They rely on school for meals like breakfast and lunch. Another example is computers. I remember during elementary and middle school; I did not have a computer at home. I would have to finish my in-class work so I could have free time to do my homework that I would not have access to at home. It helped me a lot with finishing my homework on time.
Giving students longer weekends causes them to idle. When you idle, it means you are being lazy, inactive, or avoiding work. For some students, like me, I would take that extra time given to catch up on assignments, but not every student is going to take that opportunity. In today’s society, things like gangs, gun violence, and drugs are more common in young adults. It is better to keep them busy working towards their future, which would help them with a successful life.
In Oklahoma, a study by Education Research and Policy Analysis found a 31% drop in the number of fights and assaults and a 39% drop in bullying with schools that switched to a four-day week.
The study has also found that there is no difference in attendances rates or SAT score and how the new schedules had no effect on discipline related to drugs, vandalism, alcohol, and school bus misbehavior, The Palm Beach Post reported.
Broward County has sent surveys to students, faculty, and parents to see other’s opinion on the four-day school week, so please share your opinion and let us know how you feel. Some individuals are for it and others are against it. Until Broward County changes their intensions and tries to see what is best for their students, I do not agree with the proposed four-day school week.
