BUCKEYE, Ariz. — More school districts across the country are trying a four-day school week, and the Liberty Elementary School District (LESD) is the latest to take a crack at it.
They resumed classes on Monday with their first year trying the four-day model.
LESD interim Superintendent Dr. Cort Monroe is leading the district through the change. "We're not naive. We know that it's a change and we know that there'll be adjustments," he told 12News.
"Across all of our seven schools, this year, school will happen Monday through Thursday only," he added.
The idea came about in 2021 after a budget override failed, affecting LESD schools in Buckeye and Goodyear. Dr. Monroe says the cost savings were minimal, but the idea struck like lightning.
He stated, "There were surveys done to our families and focus groups to our families to say 'Hey, how can we suit your family?'"
Through the survey, the district found roughly 60% of families were on board with the change nearly all the feedback was positive. It was approved by the governing board in late 2022 and was set to start in the 2023-2024 school year.
But it has created challenges for some parents. Dr. Monroe was asked how the district was able to address the needs of those parents who were negatively affected by the change. He said, "I think that'll be a need we're going to have to continually try to meet. I don't think that there's just a plan and it's set."
The district is offering an extended day program on Fridays for students, called LEAP. But it comes at an extra cost for parents and can add up if parents have more than one child. 12News asked if there was any payment assistance for families who couldn’t afford the rates. He said there was help for those families and that he knows this isn’t the ideal option for everyone. "We want to be open to that, especially as we live it. We haven't lived it."
In the previous model, students would have a half day on Wednesday. That has become a full day of school and the day will start ten minutes earlier and extend thirty minutes longer, freeing up that Friday which district leaders believe will help with absenteeism and the teacher shortage.
"Right away we're already feeling the impact of being able to recruit better teachers to come and work for the four-day school week," Dr. Monroe commented, adding there’s currently only one open teacher position in the district.
Most of the school districts trying this are located in Texas. Across the Lone Star State, roughly 900 schools have switched to the four-day school week.
But the model is not new to Arizona. Casa Grande and Cartwright districts have both implemented it, and there’s still research being done on the long-term impacts on students’ learning and teacher recruitment.
Dr. Monroe says only time will tell. “There’s always risk anytime you do a change like that but it could be very rewarding and maybe we're on to something that's pretty innovative and unique in the west side here."
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