Over 30% of Missouri’s state districts have transitioned to a four day school week. Overall, the response to the four day school weeks has been positive. Not only do teachers love it, saying they would even drive long distances to work at a district with four day work weeks, but students and parents do too. 

A study education week ran showed 85% of students much preferred four day school weeks and 73% of parents were satisfied. Students with four day school weeks spend more time on chores, with family and on their hobbies. The four day school week doesn’t just affect the personal lives of students, parents and teachers but also for the school, raising overall attendance and cutting certain costs. While some people think shortening school weeks can cause delay in educational milestones, I think overall the benefits are more, and schools should continue to make the switch. 

Students often get burnt out going to school 5 days a week, and it affects their academics. A study by MIT press direct, focusing on 4th and 5th grade mathematics scores, showed that the students who only had four day school weeks grew significantly overall in their math scores. If students can’t prioritize themselves and are constantly working for school, the likelihood of the work they’re producing being good is minimized. 

Burning out in school doesn’t just impact students grades but also their mental health. One of the biggest impacts found from studies on four day school weeks is the overall improvement on students’ mental health. There aren’t enough hours in a week for students to go to school, sleep, do sports and complete their homework, and the excessive amount of things for school aged children can be overwhelming. 

A study from MNT (medical news today) explains how the inability to handle stress is a prominent cause of depression, especially in highschool students. This makes sense as an overwhelmingly stressful environment like a highschool can be linked to depression in students. 

Although attending school is important for reviving an education, attendance is often down because of students who skip school to take mental health days, so overall removing a day a week wouldn’t make a large impact on the amount of time students spend in school. One of the only ways proven to reduce the amount of stress put on highschool students is by giving them an extra day where they can do homework, rest and spend time with their friends or family, for their mental well-being. 

One study found that students that attend a district participating in four day school weeks are significantly less likely to skip school, use drugs, cigarettes or drive under the influence. Schools have also recorded a significant decrease in bullying and fighting when they remove a day from the school week. Additionally a study by Center for School and Student Progress showed that assault incidents dropped by 31% after schools switched to a four day week. 

Schools switching to a four day school week doesn’t just affect students’ lives, but also the school. When schools were making the switch to a four day school week they noticed the rise in student and staff attendance. On one hand, this affects students academically, raising their grades because of the influx of time in school, but it also affects the schools. Part of school funding can rely on the students attending, and generally if there is a higher attendance percentage, the school gets more money. So, for schools that have low attendance and low funding a four day school week could make a large difference. 

Schools have also been able to cut costs when removing a day of school. Although, it is only a small percentage it can make an impact on the school in a positive way and if anything it’s definitely not causing any harm to not have to spend as much. The day less of school aids in being able to save money instead of spending it on transportation, food and energy costs. 

The future of four day school weeks could change education and school environments overall- and for the better.