Iowa City schools begin exploring four-day school week

IOWA CITY — The Iowa City school board this week began considering the benefits and impact a four-day school week would have on student learning, families and staff.

Though the district has no plans to move to a four-day week at this time, Superintendent Matt Degner told the board on Tuesday the idea “has the potential to create a better outcome for our students.”

With a four-day school week, the school year would start earlier in August and extend to the end of June, which could lessen “summer slide” — the loss of achievements made during the school year — Degner said.

The model also could improve students’ social- emotional learning by maintaining the positive relationships students have built with staff, Degner said.

Child care providers, he said, are “optimistic” they would be able to provide full-day care on no-school days, Degner said.

The current school calendar, which begins after Aug. 23 and ends around Memorial Day in May, is “based on the old agriculture calendar,” Degner said. “It doesn’t serve our students’ best interest anymore.”

The four-day school week is gaining some traction. Earlier this year, the Cardinal Community School District in southeast Iowa moved to a four-day school week for the 2022-23 school year.

Possible calendars

Degner showed the board two calendar examples based on the 2024-25 school year.

The first calendar accounts for every Friday being a no-school day. The first day of school would be Aug. 12, and the last day of school would be June 27.

The state of Iowa requires that schools begin no sooner than Aug. 23. Degner said he is in conversations with the Iowa Department of Education for a waiver that would allow an earlier start date.

The second possible calendar accounts for every other Friday being a no-school day. In this model, school would begin Aug. 26, and the last day of school would be June 27.

For both calendars, the number of school days and staff work days would remain the same as it is now, Degner said.

Continuing school through June also would give the district flexibility to include time off for more cultural holidays in the calendar.

Last year, the school board agreed to recognize the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr as a holiday on the school calendar. This decision gives all students the day off school on Eid al-Fitr, which follows the lunar calendar and falls on a different day each year.

Winter break would continue to be two weeks, and additional mini-breaks would be added throughout the year. Summer break would be most of July and the first week of August.

The new calendars also would give the district more flexibility in making up snow days, Degner said.

Board comments

School board members expressed interest in the idea and some concerns, including meeting the needs of special education students and retaining hourly staff like paraeducators.

The impact on child care and summer camps also must be considered, they said.

“I don’t want people to panic,” board member Ruthina Malone said. “This is early stages of the conversation.”

“I think it would be a great opportunity, mainly for our kids to deal with the education gap we’ve only seen grow, and providing a safety net for students who may struggle at home for long periods of time during the summer,” Malone said.

School board member J.P. Claussen said that Fridays have the highest rate of teacher absenteeism.

“It’s not because they’re taking that day off for a three-day weekend — they’re tired and sick at the end of the week, and that impacts student learning,” Claussen said.

Claussen said businesses, including schools, have adjusted and will continue to adjust their operations because of the pandemic.

“We’re going to be shocked at how much all businesses are going to have to change” after the pandemic, Claussen said. “I don’t think people are down with going in to the office five days a week and the grind.

“Our business is educating kids and making sure we do the best job. I think this is moving in the right direction to get to a place that makes more sense for the society we live in.”

School board member Lisa Williams said she has been working a flexible schedule that allows for every other Friday off for the last five years. “It’s a game changer,” she said.

With a Friday off work built into her schedule, Williams said it’s easier to schedule doctor’s appointments, car maintenance, even go to the grocery store.

“I don’t think people realize how impactful it can be, and I would hope our employees would be open to it,” Williams said.

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