Do you ever sit in class on a Friday and watch the clock, waiting for the bell to ring? Or, have you ever wished that every weekend could be a three-day weekend?
Of course, almost any student could hear “shorter school week” and automatically be in favor of it.Yet after hearing the benefits of it, I’m sure parents, school staff, and communities will also favor it. The simple benefit that everyone should be behind is evidence showing that a shorter school week can help student morale, improve attendance, and raise overall grades.
All across the nation, public schools have struggled with student attendance, and a shorter school week may be a valid solution. This, according to multiple sources, is a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the bad habits many young students picked up during this time. Carol Vidal, MD, writing for the National Institutes of Health’s Library of Medicine, notes that attendance for students has been bad since 2021 and doesn’t seem to be getting better. To me, this issue can be addressed by making each school week shorter, as it will bring more motivation for students to show up because full weeks can be daunting.
According to the article “Does Four Equal Five? Implementation and Outcomes of the Four-Day School Week’‘ published by the Rand Corporation, studies in Idaho, New Mexico, and Oklahoma found that when a school switched to a four-day school week it saw improvements in student attendance, attitude, and emotional well-being. All of these benefits combined could lead to better mental health for the student body as a whole. With students in a better head space, they will be more willing to learn, therefore making teachers more excited to teach.
If students are in school attending their classes more often they will, without a doubt, be capable of higher test scores. According to MIT-conducted research by D. Mark Anderson and Mary Beth Walker, shorter weeks lead to better attendance, better focus within classrooms, and ultimately better test scores in general. If better test scores are achievable, shouldn’t we try our best to achieve them? This would be a great help to teacher morale as well, as teachers will be more motivated to teach students who actually want to learn. Overall, higher test scores can inpact positively on both teachers and students.
The better grades and attendance that come with a shorter school week affect students in many ways and all of this leads to higher student morale. With a more vigorous morale, students become more excited about school and extracurricular activities. As a result, students will be more motivated to achieve academic success and be more involved in the school community. This will benefit everyone within the school and out, with parents being content with their children’s education, the school having higher test scores, and most of all students being on the road to a bigger and brighter future.
Overall, I believe that a fou-day school week would be a great way to impact students and school communities. The value in it is not only that it offers more time off for students and staff, but creates a better academic experience that improves teaching and learning.
-Elizabeth Hernandez-Bustamante, Staff Writer