Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. But other staff members can lose a day. To address that issue, bus drivers can take a pay cut, or they can make up the day some way – for example, by delivering digital devices to students. Because the district offers snacks in the afternoon, cafeteria workers can stay later and not lose hours. Edgin said students have fewer discipline issues, and the dropout rate has fallen. Families can take vacations or have long weekends together, or they can make appointments. Sims said his own two children seem to enjoy school more. They have Monday to relax, catch up on homework or study for a test. Tuesday through Friday goes by fast, and then it’s Saturday morning. “I feel like my kids are doing better personally,” he said. “I just feel like they have that mental health day, that one day that they can just not do the rigors of everything that goes on in life. Just kind of take that day to relax or to finish up what they need to do. Tuesday morning, I don’t ever hear them say I’m not ready to go to school. They’re ready to go.” Board member Coffman said at the Annual Conference that he was skeptical of the four-day week at first. Now he’s completely sold. His own high school and middle school children wouldn’t want to go back. “They both told me that if we go back to a five-day week, they’re going to move to Kirby or Bigelow to continue
their education, because they love it,” he said. “It’s just, the entire school is that way. All of the students just absolutely love the four-day week.” One other advantage is that the fourday week works better with COVID. It’s one less day to worry about keeping students safe. Because students now get a three-day break, if a quarantine starts on the right day, they might miss only two days. Atkins High School principal Chris Taylor said that with a five-day week, it didn’t feel like there was a weekend. Teachers were coming to the school on Sundays. Now they can do their planning on Mondays. He likes to hunt and play disc golf. He said the threat of losing the four-day week makes students work harder. “I think morale would take a big hit if that happened – student morale, teacher morale, my morale,” he said. Tyler Akers, a seventh grade math teacher who is in her fifth year of teaching, likes the longer class periods. Students seem more engaged and attentive. She can do grading and lesson plans on Mondays, giving her more time on the weekends with her family. “I really enjoy it,” she said. “I think it’s been great this year. … Since I teach math, I have longer class periods, and so I really enjoy having the longer time to teach my students each day. I feel like I can go deeper into concepts and into different skills, to be able to teach them
just better and [have] better depth of concept and lessons. I think there’s better morale. It’s more enjoyable. I think the kids really enjoy it. There’s better behavior. They seem to honestly just be happier. So it’s been really pleasant and a really great first year.” With lower fuel and utility savings, Edgin estimates the district saved about $50,000 its first semester. There have been no issues with alternative learning environments, Arkansas Better Chance preschool programs, or career centers. As for sports, Atkins has no home games on Monday this year, and next year it won’t have any games at all. Austin Dobbs, the head junior high football coach who also teaches middle school health, said coaches have more time to game plan on Mondays. The team still has five practices a week, and attendance has been good. “That was a huge question mark for us as coaches: With practice on Monday, are the kids going to show up? And they have,” he said. Student Arionna Lackey said she feels like she is learning better and is more focused. Monday now is a relaxed day. She cleans the house, does her chores, and reviews her assignments. “You have four days a week to get all of your work done, and that Monday is like a mental health day,” she said. It’s just your recovery day from the weekend, and it just prepares you for the week ahead.”
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