BISD looks forward to four-day school week

BISD looks forward to four-day school week Brian Smith Wed, 06/05/2024 - 7:47 am Bryson ISD officials are looking forward to the next school year with a fourday- a-week calendar for the district. Superintendent Greg London says consistency with most weeks being Monday through Thursday will be something parents will like. “Recent calendars have been littered with some Mondays off — others with Fridays off,” London said. “It excites us to have the majority of Monday through Thursday weeks.” London said the majority of his teachers said having Monday off was a poor choice because Tuesday was spent mainly playing catch-up. Fridays are normally spent on extracurricular activities and normally has the lowest attendance rate of the week, hovering around 90%, London said. The district’s overall attendance rate was at about 95.5% last year and London hopes to raise this number to around 97% to increase funding from the state. London said having attendance increase from 1.5-2% could mean about $50,000 in state funding, which is the salary of a first-year teacher. Retaining teachers is an important reason behind trying a four-day week. “Last year at this time, we were looking to hire five teachers,” London said. “Right now, we’re not looking to hire any teachers, but that could change.” The 2024-25 school year, which will begin Tuesday, Aug. 6, contains an additional 2,000 minutes of classroom education. Much of the discussion against a four-day calendar was the effect it would have on the elementary students going for a longer school day. London said the officials in nearby districts have said the change has not been hard to overcome. “We’ve been told for the first few weeks of the year, the kids are tired and dragging, but that’s the same for every year,” London said. “Extending the school day roughly 35 to 40 minutes has not had that much of an impact.” London said the district is considering a backpack program which other districts use to ensure students have food and other items for the change, saying some community members have said they would help provide what is needed. “What we’ve heard from districts like Woodson and Graford is those programs are used for the first four to six weeks but do eventually dwindle,” London said. Mineral Wells ISD told London that going to a four-day calendar has helped school spirit and resulted in less discipline issues and higher attendance. “We’ve yet to talk to anyone who said (going to a four-day calendar) has not been a positive thing for the community,” London said.