Shorter school week isn't for suburbs

Parents, school administrators and teacher unions are buzzing this week after the Illinois House of Representatives approved a measure to allow schools to operate on a four-day week.

The legislation comes at the request of a downstate district that's strapped for cash and waiting for state transportation reimbursements. Reducing the school week by one day would significantly cut the cost of gas and salaries for drivers needed to transport children to school.

The four-day school week isn't new. Many states have adopted similar legislation, which simply gives school districts the right to make the change. Districts would be required to hold hearings with the public before its elected board approves it. In other states, it also is mostly used by rural districts.

In the suburbs, where many students have activities after - and sometimes before - school, this proposal would create a significant change in lifestyle. Think of how hard it would be for the coach of a travel soccer team, for instance, to schedule practices for a team that draws players from schools on such different schedules. And, while it might make economic sense for school districts, it could present a significant economic hardship for families with two working adults or a single parent. Summer vacations and days off are challenging enough, particularly for parents of middle-schoolers who have outgrown the need for supervised day care, but shouldn't necessarily go unsupervised for an entire day.

However, the main consideration of any proposal related to schools should be quality of education. Will children be able to remain focused if their school day was 75 minutes longer? Would teachers give less homework, leaving less overall learning time? What is the impact of long weekends on a child's ability to retain what they learn? Would it save enough to protect classes like art and music, the first target of budget-cutters?

Under the proposal, the total number of classroom hours would remain the same. But students would attend fewer than the 180 days a year currently required. An Arkansas district that once tried the four-day week rescinded it after it failed to provide enough savings to make a difference. For districts seriously considering this change, the good news is that test scores weren't affected and attendance improved.

We always encourage schools and lawmakers to work together to save money and improve learning. For a rural district with long bus routes, the reduced transportation costs - along with salary savings on other nonunion personnel such as food service workers - might save enough to make this worth considering.

However, we doubt this kind of change would be a good fit for suburban districts, which generally have a smaller percentage of students taking buses and travel a shorter distance. Lifestyle issues such as child care and activities also would make a four-day school week more of a hardship.