Should Schools Have 4 Day Weeks?

 Via LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/should-schools-have-4-day-weeks-6214994

Some districts have gone to four day weeks out of financial necessity going back decades.   In reading some of the replies, some respondents cite the use of the fifth day as grading or planning days.  

As a proponent of Professional Learning Communities since assisting with the implementation of that model at Carmel High School several years ago, I see great value in making time for teachers to collaborate on the Big 4 Questions for PLCs:

• What do we want students to know and be able to do?
• How will we know our students have learned what we intended?
• How will we respond when students have not learned what we intended?
• How will we respond when students have already learned what we intended?

The thought that teacher teams could meet so frequently and for so much time is incredibly intriguing.  Teachers would have time for quality and in-depth discussions about the learning standards.  They would have time to review data to inform instruction.  They would have time to formulate common formative assessments and plan responsive interventions when students struggle to meet the learning target.  

That said, instructional time is gold.  Time is of too great value to be so easily dispensed.