Concern aired over four-day week proposal

DEER — Added time on the school bus and a shrinking safety net for at risk children were the main concerns aired by parents at a special school board meeting held related to a proposal for the Deer/Mt. Judea School District going to a four-day school week.
The meeting was held at the Deer gym Tuesday night, March 30. A second meeting is set for 7 p.m., Tuesday, April 6, at the Mt. Judea school cafeteria.
Superintendent Brenda Napier said the four-day week was a subject mentioned about a year ago. It was put aside until interest was renewed recently. "I feel that at the end of the day we will need to choose one way or the other for next year, because we can move forward with calendars and schedules."
The school board called the community meetings after it received the results of a recent survey of teachers and staff of the school district at the March 16 board meeting. Of the 79 responses 27.8% were "strongly in favor" of the proposal and 27.8% were just "in favor" of it. Another 16.5% were undecided with the remainder being "strongly opposed" or had "no preference."
Of those staff members surveyed, 69.6% favored removing Friday from the school week. The main concern voiced by staff was for those students who would need day care that one day a week.
Deer School Principal Bill Mizaur narrated the same Powerpoint presentation made to the board. Research included findings of school districts in Arkansas and other states that had transitioned to a four-day school week. The investigation looked into savings of school funds and other impacts to those schools, initial concerns as well as results.
Little is known about the effects on student outcomes. Results are mixed, Mizaur said. One school study showed statistically significant improvement in math scores while another shows no significant improvements. There have also been studies that indicate temporary declines in standardized test scores, but they recovered over an adjustment period.
Going from a five-day to a four-day school week is not seen as a big cost savings. Rather it does enhance recruitment and retention of teachers, the findings show. Schools reported fewer student and teacher absences and fewer days of having to pay substitute teachers.
Under the proposal, the extended school day would begin at 7:35 a.m. and end at 3:55 p.m. Instruction time for core subjects will increase and there would be an additional snack provided in the afternoon. There would not be a reduction in staff salaries.
Arkansas's education department does not require a waiver for schools to go to a four-day week. According to the department, "four-day school week" means an educational program in which all students attend school for four days a week but no fewer than the total number of hours required by the Arkansas Standards for Accreditation in a five-day school week."
Mizaur said the state requires 178 student instructional days having 360 minutes of instructional time per day. This does not include lunch time, break time or time between classes. That equals 1,800 minutes per week. Under a four day week, there are 450 minutes of instructional time per day.
The proposed school day would include: First bell at 7:35 a.m., 65-minute-long classes, a 30 minute lunch and a 10 minute break before last hour. The school day would end at 4:07 p.m.

The staff survey showed most teachers would prefer to take Friday's off. If a holiday falls on a Monday, then classes would be held on Friday.
Students in grades 7-12 were also surveyed and those results were shared at Tuesday night's meeting. The results of the survey showed 30.9% of students had no preference while 29.6% were opposed to the change to a four-day week. Another 25.9% of students surveyed were in favor of the proposal and 13.6% said they were undecided.
Parents questioned if the students understood the proposal. One mother said her child thought the four-day week meant that students would report for class at school four days during the week and one day would be a virtual day where they would work on their lessons at home via the internet.
Napier said students could be resurveyed, but she did not know how young of students would be included.
The parents were also encouraged to fill out a short survey available at the meeting or they could fill out a long form of the survey on-line. Parents who did not know about the meeting or could not attend Tuesday will have the opportunity to attend the April 6 meeting. Announcements were sent home with students and was posted on the school district social media websites, Napier said.
The state funded ABC pre-school at Deer would follow the four-day schedule. Napier responded to one of the first questions posed. The 45-47 minute longer day is a concern for those students. "If there's not breaks and snacks that would make a lengthy day for the little guys and gals."
Napier said the morning arrival time won't change. The afternoon bus ride home will be later.
Parents talked about transportation concerns and time students spend on the bus. More buses and bus drivers will be needed to adjust or add bus routes. Vernie Heydenrich, district transportation supervisor, said way back when it was decided to pick up students at their home. He advocates bus stops where students would gather to be picked up and dropped off. Besides saving time it would save wear and tear on the bus fleet.
Meeting students' economic needs was a voiced concern. Many parents expressed the need for their children to be in school five days a week due to lack of child care, study times, meals, social interaction with other children and other needs.
A man who said he is a parole and probation officer working in the county said when he heard the school district is considering going to a four day week "scared me to death."
He said he could attest that he has seen kids at home in situations "that would make some of you vomit, make some of you cry, make some of you vow to never let the kid out of your sight. If you've seen what I've seen you would be on board staying on five days."
Board member Andrew Campbell, a pastor, said he and his wife have opened their home as foster parents to many children from around the state, but have not been able to get the opportunity to help children from Newton County. He said there are agencies that are supposed to help those children, not the school."Hearing your report makes me wonder where they are at."