Exploring the Four-Day School Week: What Every Administrator Should Know About the Facts!

1. Exploring the Four-Day School Week: What Every Administrator Should Know About the Facts! COSA Conference, BREAKOUT SESSION ROUND I June 24, 2010 Seaside, Oregon

2. Today’s Presentation will consist of . . . What it is. Why Oakridge did it. Available research with objective exploration Board and Community involvement Process Comparison of seat time and work time Positive and Negative Attributes Strategies to alleviate negative attributes What the five day school week isn’t . .

3. What is it? Four days of school each week. Typically Monday through Thursday Some Districts have gone to a Tuesday - Friday If there is a Holiday on Monday go to Tuesday - Friday Was originally started in mid ‘70s to save money and fuel during the energy crisis. Been a dramatic increase in districts implementing in Oregon over the past 15 years. Usually only implemented in small districts

4. Why did the Oakridge School District go to the Four-Day School week? Have been successful on the five day week “Outstanding” ranking of Oakridge High – Leader in OUS statistics with 90% of graduating students attending college. Less than a 1% dropout rate. “Exceptional” Elementary School Looked for something to push us over the plateau Corbett School District: April, 2008 Spoke with Board Members about the possibilities. When I become a teacher . . . Increased teacher vitality.

5. Research and Data Contacted every school district in Oregon that was on the Four-Day School week. OSLIS Search for research Beesley and Anderson(2007); Duur (2003); Kenworthy (n.d.); Kingsbury(2008); Parker(1998); Richard (2002). Beesley and Anderson’s Meta-analysis Research was then combined with community forums to exam the possibilities for the Oakridge School District.

6. Meetings Regarding the Positive and Negative Attributes of the Four Day School Week August 13, 2008 Board Work Session Board Meetings (6) Meetings for OJH and OHS Staff (4) Meetings for OES Staff (2) Evening Meetings for District Parents (4) Evening Meeting for Public Served by OSD (1) Meeting for OSD Bus Drivers and Cooks (3) Evening Meeting for OSD Students (2) Superintendents committee on the Four-Day School week

7. Negatives Worries about child care for elementary school children on Fridays Perception that long days for OES students will cause fatigue Decrease in hours for some classified staff Students who are absent miss more instruction Difficulty in community and parent reaction to plan Perceived lessening of instructional hours Concerns that SFA (Reading Program) will not work on a four day week. Concerns that students will not have food when school is out on the fifth day. Bus routes would have to be adjusted to minimize travel impact for High Prairie. Bus driver recovery time needs to be addressed.

8. Positive Student attendance increases Teacher absences decrease Student academic progress improved, or remained the same Custodian use of Fridays for tasks typically put off until summer Decreased bus maintenance Employee morale boosted; Teacher turnover declines Building an Airplane Decline in student discipline Increased parental involvement in schools Teachers note the more effective use of class time Students have been noted by researchers to have increased engagement as compared to 5 day week 90% of communities that adopt are very happy with the four-day week after implementation, despite reservations prior to implementation

9. Positive Next year there will be six districts in the Mountain View League that will be less than five days, allowing for the movement of games typically played on Thursdays to be moved to Fridays. Could share staff and resources between OHS/OJH and OES if the rotating schedule was no longer in effect Bus drivers and cooks would be offered all extra duty supervision before others to make up time lost. Longer weekends that provide for more family interactions/mini-vacations

10. Survey Results of Residents of the Winston-Dillard School District, Oakland School District, and Days Creek School District November 10, 2008 “Do you have children currently in the school District?” Yes No Grandparents Winston-Dillard 14 5 Oakland 12 9 Days Creek 9 5 2 “On a scale of 1-5, with five being the highest what would you rate the four day school week?”(no = 1, yes = 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Average Conglomerate Average Winston-Dillard0 0 2 6 12 4.5 4.56 Oakland 0 1 1 3 15 4.6 Days Creek 0 0 1 4 9 4.57 “On a scale of 1-5, with one being the lowest, do you consider fatigue an issue for children?”(no = 1, yes = 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Average Conglomerate Average Winston-Dillard11 5 3 0 1 1.75 1.72 Oakland 11 7 1 0 1 1.65 Days Creek 6 6 1 1 0 1.38 “On a scale of 1-5, how difficult is it to obtain child care on the day off?”(no = 1, yes = 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Average Conglomerate Average Winston-Dillard19 2 0 0 0 1.09 1.27 Oakland 14 5 0 1 0 1.4 Days Creek 11 2 1 0 0 1.38 “On a scale of 1-5, has the four day school week impacted student activities and athletics?” (no = 1, yes = 5) 1 2 3 4 5 Average Conglomerate Average Winston-Dillard16 3 1 0 1 1.42 1.69 Oakland 15 2 1 2 0 1.5 Days Creek 12 1 0 0 1 2.35

11. 5 Day Week Teacher Work Hours Per School Year (8:00 – 3:45) 191 Days X 7.25 Hours = 1384.75 Hours 191 Days includes: 172 instructional days 6 Paid Holidays 4 Grading Days 3 Curriculum Days 4 In-Service Days (2 = .5 Days) 2.5 Work days (5 .5 Days) 1 Flex Day *Does not include lunch

12. Four Day School Week Teacher Work Hours Per Year (7:30 – 4:00) 20 Non- InstructionalDays 153 Instructional Days 173 Work Days Per Year + = 83,040 Minutes 1384 Work Hours Per Year = = 173 Work Days includes: 153 instructional days 6 Paid Holidays 4 Grading Days 3 Curriculum Days 4 In-Service Days (2 = .5 Days) 2 Work days (4 .5 Days) 1 Flex Day

13. 5 Day Total Instructional Hours at OHS and OJH (8:20 – 3:15) 25 min (passing periods) 415 minutes 172 Days X - 1032 Inst. Hours 30 min (lunch) 61,920 minutes - = = ODE Required Instructional Time: OHS: 990 hours per year OJH: 900 hours per year ODE Maximum Seat time per day OHS, 9 – 12: 7 hours per day

14. Four Day School Week Total Instructional Hours at OHS and OJH (7:55 – 3:45) 35 min (passing periods) 470 minutes 153 Days X - 1032 Inst. Hours 30 min (lunch) 61,965 minutes - = = ODE Required Instructional Time: OHS: 990 hours per year OJH: 900 hours per year ODE Maximum Seat time per day OHS, 9 – 12: 7 hours per day

15. Four Day School Week Total Instructional Hours at OES (8:00 – 3:00) 420 minutes 30 min (lunch) 153 Days X - 30 min (recess) 360 Minutes 918 Inst. Hours = - = ODE Required Instructional Time: OES 4 – 8: 900 Hours OES 1 – 3: 810 Hours OES K: 405 Hours ODE Maximum Seat time per day OES 4-8: 6.5 Hours per Day OES K -3: 6 Hours per Day

16. Traditional vs. 4 Day Weeks Teacher Work Five Day School Week Paid Days: 191 Hours Per Day:7.25 Instructional Days: 172 Non-Instructional Days:20 Start time: 8:00 End time: 3:45 Work Hours per year:1384.75 HS Inst. Hours/year: 1032 OES Inst. Hour/year 918 Fridays Worked: 35 Fridays w/ Students: 30 Four Day School Week Paid Days: 173 Hours Per Day:8.0 Instructional Days: 153 Non-Instructional Days:20 Start time: 7:30 End time: 4:00 Work Hours per year:1384 HS Inst. Hours/year: 1032 OES Inst. Hours/year918 Fridays Worked: 13 Fridays w/ Students: 6

17. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Hungry Students on the Weekends School District partnered with local ministerial society to provide “snack pacs” of nutritious food for the weekend. Cereal was provided through “Food for Lane County” This program has increased community involvement.

18. Negative Attribute Alleviation: No one will be able to find babysitters on Fridays Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than actual negative attribute. Most families were able to find family members to babysit the OES students. The District provided Red Cross Child Care classes for any interested high school students. A list of certified babysitters was compiled, and any parent that needed childcare would be submitted to the Certified Childcare students. Not a single request came in from parents that did not have child care. .5 days cut out of the schedule – easier to find child care for every Friday than all the .5 days (We will discuss that in more detail later!)

19. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Days too long for Young Elementary Students Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than actual negative attribute. Oakridge did not make any specific adaptations to address this attribute. District has not received any complaints of concerns of the perceived negative attribute. Aligned with OSD focus on differentiation of instruction – cut out lecture.

20. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Bus Drivers and Cooks would be losing income. Perhaps the most significant hurdle to union acceptance. Oakridge made all extra curricular activity supervision (games; dances; concerts) available to these specific employees first. Some of these employees (bus drivers; cooks) actually saw an increase in salary while others did not because they did not sign up for this work.

21. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Increased Crime Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than actual negative attribute. SRO was freed up to provide community patrol. 21st Century School Grant.

22. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Lessening of Instructional Time Nothing could be further from the truth! Earlier tables showed proposed schedule – slight differences in minutes and we increased instruction by over 30 hours at OHS and 20 hours at OES Not only are there more seat hours, there is higher engagement of students

23. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Difficulty in Community and Parent Reaction Involvement and review Herding Cats Opportunity to really involve the community in the decision making process Not a forgone conclusion – every community is different. Do not mandate, simply explore. Question every aspect. Administrator support; Board support Trial basis with objective data analysis

24. Negative Attribute Alleviation: Student Athletes will not have time for homework Research has shown this to be more of a perceived than actual negative attribute. Coaches have study tables. Project work is done on weekends. Lunch time study hall set up.

25. Negative Attribute Alleviation: SFA will be harmed Assigned part of a classified employees time as “SFA Coordinator” Make all teachers SFA teachers, decreasing class sizes, and focus on SBE

26. What a five day school week isn’t . . . A five day school week is not a five day school week. Everyone on a five day week please stand.

29. Rural Gifted Students: Victims of Public Education 3.6 million per grade; 40% of all districts; 30% of all kids 2.5% are TAG; 378,000 students; $5,000:$1; all funding $21,000:$1 More work, not different work; inadequate services Hurts our best and brightest kids Hurts society Simple cost neutral solution victimsofeducation.com

30. Final Thoughts on Four Day Community must support it – consider a trial basis Board must support it Board support not enough – admin must support! Communication to parents: Structured sleep hours Powerpoint presentation available at victimsofeducation.com