IEN series: 4-day school weeks have rural backers

This is the 4th in a 5-part series by Kevin Richert/Idaho Education News about four-day school weeks in rural Idaho:

In four-day schools in every corner of Idaho, the three-day weekend begins today — and every Friday. Plans for the “off” day vary as widely as the schools that have adopted the four-day calendar, and the families and students directly affected by this education experiment. In some schools, Friday is a day for teacher training or collaboration. Elsewhere, teachers catch up on paperwork or take the day off. Some students spend Fridays catching up on classwork, working on the family farm or taking the bus for a long roadtrip to a football game. Some run errands with parents. Some are in daycare. Others fend for themselves, which concerns local educators. In the grand bargain that is the four-day schedule, Fridays represent the biggest tradeoff of all: four long school days, in exchange for a free weekday. Critics consider Friday a wasted day. Supporters covet flexible Fridays. The grassroots popularity isn’t based in data or evidence. But it helps explain how the four-day schedule has become engrained in small-town Idaho/ Kevin Richert , Idaho Education News. More here .