School District Cancels Mondays. Would 4 Day School Weeks Work in the HV?

The idea has been thrown back and forth for years, and most kids would undoubtedly love to have every Monday off. But do you think going to class for only four days a week would actually benefit kids in the Hudson Valley, or New York state?

School District 27J in Colorado announced during the spring that they would move to a four-day school week starting in August. This has drawn some mixed reactions.

The school says one big benefit is how much money they'll save. The district Superintendent  says this will also help teacher "development and preparedness". The extra day could mean extra time for teachers to catch up on work. No school on Mondays would mean less money spent on energy costs or busing.

While District 27J serves schools located in several major suburbs around the city of Denver, the four day model has so far mainly been used in rural areas where there isn't much funding. According to ncsl.org, approximately 560 districts in 25 states have one or more schools on a four-day schedule.

Niagara Catholic Junior/Senior High School in the western part of NY state tried it from 2007-2011.

Some positive impacts have been more potential hours for students who have to work jobs after school, extra time off for athletes who are normally forced to miss school due to competitions and long travel distances, plus a boost in morale and attendance for both students and teachers.

Some studies even showed that drop-out rates decreased while test scores either went up or stayed the same.

On the other hand, Mondays off could mean longer school hours for the remainder of the week, and even less vacation time during the holidays. In the case of the schools in Colorado, an extra day off means parents would have to potentially spend more on child care, plus less school hours means less hours for substitute teachers looking for work. 

One study, posted on Chalkbeat, says that youth crime jumped nearly 20 percent in districts with four day weeks. Property theft and damage were the areas were crime rates soared, according to this study.

So, what are you thoughts? Could it work?