Source: NPR
District 27J, one of the state’s larger districts, has dropped Mondays from the school week and switched to a four-day schedule as of Tuesday, the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year. Superintendent Chris Fiedler said that the district will save on transportation costs, teaching salaries and districtwide utilities. “We anticipate about $1 million in savings,” Fiedler said. Fiedler estimates that running fewer school buses alone will save the district about $700,000. The district plans to offer child care on Mondays for $30 per child per day. Students will attend regular classes Tuesday through Friday and class time will be extended by 40 minutes per day. Our friends at CRPE have researched and shared their thoughts on this topic in their June report, “What Do We Actually Know about the Four-Day School Week?”