Colorado school district hopes to switch to four-day week

27J Superintendent Dr. Chris Fiedler is rallying to switch to a four-day school week to ‘recruit and retain’ high quality teachers

A Colorado school district is rallying to switch the conventional Monday to Friday schedule to a four-day school week, in an attempt to attract high quality teachers.  

School District 27J has submitted an application to the Colorado Department of Education with the hopes of launching their new school week that runs from Tuesday to Friday as soon as next school year.

The district claims that the three-day weekend will be a milestone achievement for teachers who are unable to receive significant salary increases, but can instead be given more time to prepare for their lessons.

‘I realize this will be a significant change for our students, their families, and the communities we are so fortunate to serve, but our district can no longer be expected to do more with less financial resources,’ 27J Superintendent Dr. Chris Fiedler released in a statement to KMGH-TV in Denver.

‘We are 100 percent committed to providing our students with the necessary skills and competencies that will enable a future far beyond graduation,’ he added.

‘To that end, I believe it is in our students’ best interest to provide high-quality, engaged teachers using 21st Century tools for learning four days a week rather than not have them five days a week,’ he said.

The school district hopes to be approved and launch their new schedule as soon as next school year

The school district hopes to be approved and launch their new schedule as soon as next school year

Tracy Rudnick, the public information officer of District 27J, says the group is confident their proposal will be approved.

‘They have not turned down any other school district that has had applied,’ Rudnick said to ABC.

‘We are pretty confident that it’s going to go through,’ she added. 

She noted that 98 other districts in Colorado have already adopted the four-day school week. 

‘We made this change, one, was for the clean and concise schedule,’ Rudnick said. 

The new schedule will add an additional 40 minutes to the typical school days. 98 districts in Colorado already follow the four-day week school schedule

The new schedule will add an additional 40 minutes to the typical school days. 98 districts in Colorado already follow the four-day week school schedule

‘It was also to recruit and retain highly-quality teachers. This new schedule appeals to teachers because their professional development is built into their day. They were using their personal time to prepare for the day. They’ll now have time in the morning before students come to school to either prepare individually or work into teams in educational lessons,’ she added. 

If approved students will spend an extra 40 minutes in class per day to meet the state requirement for instruction time of 1,080 hours per year.

The schedule will see children attend class Tuesday to Friday.

For the off-Mondays the district will offer childcare from 6am to 6pm for working families, for the price for $30 per child, per day.

The district move will affect its 18,000 pupils.

If approved the news schedule will begin on August 10 as the first day of school for middle and high school students, while elementary students will start August 14 and preschool on August 28.      



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