Yorktown ISD considers 4 day school week

• Superintendent Gerald Nixon holds a community Q & A regarding the proposed 4-Day School Calendar. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Yorktown ISD held a question and answer session at the High School auditorium on Thursday evening at 6 pm. Approximately 23 people were in attendance including school board members Jeff Sievers, Chris Romans and John Young, teachers, parents and concerned citizens.

Superintendent Gerald Nixon began the meeting with a welcome and introduction of the board members present. Board member Chris Romans took the floor to introduce and review the Lone Star Governance (LSG) program with attendees.

LSG is a framework that keeps local school boards focused on continuous improvement of student outcomes. Its purpose is to provide coaching and support for school governing teams that choose and commit to intensely focus on the objective to improve student outcomes.

In September of 2023, Nixon organized a Student Advisory Committee composed of two female students and two male students from grades 7-12. The committee meets with Nixon on a scheduled basis to discuss the needs and wants of the students. Nixon feels this is an important way for him to understand what the students are feeling about certain issues and what is important to them.

In speaking with these young men and women, he has had a positive response to a 4 day school week. He finds that young people in today’s non-stop lifestyle often feel overwhelmed.

Many teens are over involved in sports, extra curricular groups, church groups, 4-H, part-time jobs and other time consuming activities, they are in need of some down time. Studies have shown that teenagers should get at least 8 hours of sleep, preferably more. Lack of sleep/ rest can affect their ability to learn, their test scores and their attention spans.

Nixon also discussed the need for talented teachers in small schools and noted that a 4-day school week has become a high priority for new teachers when searching for positions. Yorktown currently has a certified teacher shortage and feels a 4-day school week could be a solution for that. He presented several schools in Texas that already have an adjusted calendar and the morale at these locations is high for both teachers and students.

The pros and cons of such a calendar are many with both teachers and parents each having their own set of concerns. These concerns range from daycare to learning retention for younger students.

One concern of Nixon is the health of students and teachers. October 2023 through January 2024 saw the worst attendance record at YISD in recent history due to illness for both students and teachers. Nixon feels that the extra day would give the maintenance crews to sanitize the classrooms and common areas more effectively. If the new schedule is implemented, it would not affect the maintenance department.

The shorter school week would not affect the pay of teachers and would allow them an extra day for parent teacher conferences, lesson planning and an opportunity to attend to their own personal matters without taking time off from their classroom. It could also save the school over $250,000 annually by reducing utility bills, meals, diesel for buses and many other daily expenses the school incurs.

A real concern of many parents is about daycare as they themselves would still have a 5 day work week. Nixon offered that this could be an opportunity for various groups in the community to open their doors to young people, suggesting local churches could implement a Mother’s Day Out program like many other cities already enjoy.

Another parent reported her research indicated that younger children don’t retain as much knowledge on these types of programs. An elementary teacher stated that as the calendar is now, once the children return from the weekend, it takes her a half to get the kids back into school mode and that on Fridays, the kids are too excited about the weekend, leaving her with only 3 days of real teaching for the children. She is concerned having one less day to work with them may affect their retention.

A parent voiced her concern about the accelerated and dual credit classes for high school students. How would this shortened week affect their opportunities, with Nixon stating that it would require a restructured schedule and would not affect the students’ credits.

There would be a plan in place to make sure meals for students that require them are delivered on the day off. No student will be without sufficient food and nutrition. Nixon had no firm answer on how a 4 day week affects testing, but offered that his research with other schools indicates that scores actually increase.

The 2nd Q & A Session will be Monday, March 18 in the High School auditorium beginning at 6 p.m.. Superintendent Nixon will be available at the Secondary Library on Wednesday, February 28 from 4-6 p.m.. Everyone is invited to stop by with any questions they may have on the 4 day school week proposal. Surveys can be picked up at the administration office or downloaded off the school website. It is available to parents, teachers and students. The link to the parent survey is: https://forms.gle/ wf5rMxYbH65K3X5x5