<body><div><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=1J9pvb_0wBHOTGU00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1J9pvb_0wBHOTGU00" width="1320" height="743" >Highland School District is among the more than a dozen school districts in Iowa that have switched to a 4-day school week schedule.The district has had Fridays off starting this school year, with teachers coming in two or three times a month for in-service days.The move has been a way for smaller districts to attract and keep teachers in more rural areas."We're in a teacher shortage, and trying to find those people to fill our spots for our kids is very important," Superintendent Ken Crawford said. "We're working hard, we're just being more efficient with our time."In order to meet state classroom hour requirements, the district said the day starts 15 minutes early and run 30 minutes later compared to last year.Staff and students said the extra day off is allowing for more time to catch up on work and an easier start to the next school week.High school student Jacob Schneider said having Fridays off allows more time for his team to get ready for games, and the three-day weekend every week leaves more room for activities outside the classroom."You get more time with your family, and if there's any schoolwork assigned over the weekend, we get extra time to do it which is always nice," Schneider said.Band director Andrew McDonald is using the extra time to work on his master’s degree. He said teachers already have to take a lot of work home with them, so having an extra day to get things done is a big help."Grocery shopping, cleaning the house, all of that stuff, put that on a Friday and that way we can sort of enjoy the weekend because the reality of this job is it does not end once the contract hours end," McDonald said.The district said a lot of effort went into the change. Superintendent Crawford said the district has extended its paid before-and-after school program as an option to cover childcare for the entirety of Fridays.He said the backpack program for families facing food insecurity has also been amped up to make sure kids in need don't go hungry over the long weekends.As conversations with the community continue, the district plans to release a poll to families after the holidays to see how it is going.</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Southeast Iowa school switches to 4-day school week

Highland School District is among the more than a dozen school districts in Iowa that have switched to a 4-day school week schedule. The district has had Fridays off starting this school year, with teachers coming in two or three times a month for in-service days. The move has been...