North Dakota Moves Toward Four-Day School Weeks

One school and three school districts in North Dakota have applied to reschedule for four-day school weeks, effective next school year.

As the Bismarck Tribune reported this week, public schools in the state had until the first of March to apply. The four schools/districts to apply include:

• Hillcrest Seventh-Day Adventist Elementary, Jamestown
• White Shield School District, Roseglen
• Eight Mile School District, Trenton
• Mandaree School District, Mandaree

Twelve schools in the state are already on four-day schedules, for at least a portion of the school year. Advocates of the four-day week say it improves attendance and provides for more flexibility for teachers in their work schedules.

Many businesses world-wide, notably banks, have applied similar four-day schedules in recent decades.

A spokesman for the state Department of Public Instruction says administrators will review each request. The final recommendations are expected on the desk of School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler by the end of the month.

[Source: Bismarck Tribune]