Students enrolled at schools in one district in Missouri started a four-day week schedule this year.
School is in session for students Tuesday to Friday in the Warsaw R-IX School District after the board approved the new schedule in March, the Sedalia Democrat reported.
The change was made in an effort to increase student attendance and class time.
"We have 83 percent of our students here 90 percent of the time," Superintendent Shawn Poyser said in March. "It's a concern for us, obviously."
With the new schedule, the school year at 25 schools in the district is reduced to 153 days, with 30 minutes added to each day to meet required instructional time. It ends up giving students 42 hours over the requirement. The district will try the schedule for the next three years before reassessing the decision before the 2021-22 school year, the Democrat reported.
Parent-teacher conferences will be held on Mondays. Parents are also asked to schedule doctor and dentist appointments on Mondays.
Teachers were in favor of the change. Students see the benefits from it, too.
"It's definitely been a big change, but I think most of the students like it better," student Heather Weaver told the Democrat. "We have time to do our homework and projects, and it's nice to have the extra day to work on them."
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