Many students at Mt. Vernon love weeks where they have an extra Monday off. They use the extra time to catch up on sleep, meet up with friends and earn money. However, if that extra day was every week, they could do this regularly with ease. A four day school week would allow students to come to school better off from their successful, restful time off.
Many high school students have extremely full weekends. Weekends are the few days students have to relax and do the things they enjoy. Nevertheless, many students still have busy weekends with sports and practices all weekend long.
Sports like basketball and football draw a lot of fanfare on the weekends, easily filling it up. Although sports do not run on Sundays, many students still practice on their own time. Working students often spend their Saturdays and Sundays trying to earn money for the future.
Other students try to spend their weekends recuperating from the school week or with friends, but two days is not much time. With an extra day, students could better prepare for the week and manage their time.
If students happen to have missed a day of school, the longer weekend gives them an extra day to catch up instead of becoming another day students have fallen behind. Teachers could center their lessons on their students and fully prepare to teach. While teachers are generally very well prepared, they often have to rely on lesson plans they developed long before. These could be plans they have developed over multiple years. If teachers had an extra day, they would be able to better plan their lessons according to the students they have. They would have time to think it through and be creative. A four day school week would work better for everyone.
Four day school weeks also have reduced mental health struggles. A school in Texas found students and teachers experienced less stress. This makes students face school in a better way and be able to actually enjoy it. Furthermore, the article found that students were more willing to go to school with less burnout. With less days to wake up and get to school, students can have more energy and appreciate the positives.
There were, however, many conflicting studies online. While some studies found four day school weeks increased test scores, others found the opposite. The schedule itself can also be a little unconventional. The school day increases to allow for the extra day off, and parents have to figure out a way to fit an additional weekend day into their schedule.
Mt. Vernon High School currently has a 7 hour and 55 minute school day. However, schools with a four day school week must have longer school days to meet law requirements. One school in Indiana, Vinton Elementary School, had to add an hour and a half to meet their requirements. This would mean much longer school days and sports and other extracurricular activities going much later.
Yet the overall benefits are massive. Everyone wants extra sleep and time to space out their work. This new timeline will prepare students for differing workplace schedules and college. Furthermore, it may better work with block eight to accommodate classes occurring every other day. In the end, a four day school week could be the best thing that could happen to our school.
