According to the Education Weekly, almost 900 schools nationwide have adopted four-day school weeks. But the popular schedule isn’t taking hold across California — only two districts and five schools have adopted it in the nation’s most populous state. And, despite student appeal, Burlingame is unlikely to be the next.
According to Assistant Principal Aimee Malcolm, implementing the four-day school week would inflate the length of school days and the school year due to the mandated 64,800 instructional minutes in California.
“In a perfect world I would absolutely be for it,” Malcolm said. “It really just comes down to instructional minutes which we’re required to have. I would be interested in what students had to say about extending out the school year or being in school longer in those four days.”
Of course, if the San Mateo Union High School District were to implement this change, it would require extensive adjustment and changes to all schools in the district. However, senior Janek Pistor believes that both students and teachers would be optimistic about this change.
“I believe everyone wants more rest and break,” Pistor said. “It would give us more time for things like school events that people could go to and not have to worry too much about getting their homework done.”
Senior Adara Chidiosan felt similar to Pistor, recognizing the numerous benefits of a shorter school week.
“I would have more time to have a private life and I’d also be more energized when I need to go to school,” Chidiosan said. “There would only be benefits; I don’t think we need five days of school to get all the information we learn in school.”
Based on a 2021 study conducted by RAND, schools with four-day weeks had a marginally better average attendance rate of 93.4%, just barely above the average attendance rate of 92.9% at schools with five-day weeks.
Malcolm has worked for five California school districts during her time as an educator — but due to the rarity of shorter school weeks in California, she has never seriously considered this change.
Although she admittedly would also be in favor of a four-day school week if possible, Assistant Principal Jenny Gibson reminded students to consider the other half of the argument: home and family life.
“I think it would impact child care or students’ ability to come to school and leave,” Gibson said. “What would they do on that day that they’re out? Whether it’s a Monday or Friday I think it could impact the community because we would have more students out in the community.”
Chidiosan shared this sentiment as well, noting the potential negative effects it could have on students’ home lives.
“This adjustment could be hard for students who don’t have a good family home, and school is kind of a comfortable place to be at if you don’t like to be at home,” Chidiosan said.
Although this change may not come to Burlingame anytime soon, the national trend of the four-day school week has prompted many to consider if the benefits of the condensed week outweigh the costs.
“This decision wouldn’t just impact Burlingame, it would be a district-wide decision,” Malcolm said. “If one district has a four-day week, but the elementary and middle does not, that poses a concern for families.”
