Miller, Pierce City approve four-day school weeks

Two southwest Missouri districts have adopted a four-day school week and at least one other is planning the switch.

Miller and Pierce City will start going Tuesday through Friday during the 2015-16 year. Stockton has also proposed the truncated calendar.

"The district further realizes that this decision is not supported by everyone in our community and respects the different opinions and thoughts by all patrons," wrote Pierce City Superintendent Russ Moreland, in a letter to the community following the Feb. 18 vote. "We simply feel at this time that moving in this direction provides numerous benefits to the district both in the short and long term."

Both Moreland and Miller Superintendent Tracey Hankins said the decision was made after much research, conversations with districts elsewhere in the state that previously made the switch, and extensive feedback from the community.

"Moving to a four-day calendar was not an easy decision for the board and the administration," Moreland wrote.

Districts explored the option as a way to save money, better engage students and keep quality teachers. But, officials have repeatedly acknowledged that the proposed change is causing concern for some parents — especially about child care.

A change in Missouri law, in the late 2000s, allowed four-day weeks and gave districts more leeway in how to structure the calendar. But, the school year must still include at least 1,044 hours.

Missouri districts that previous made the switch include Everton — in nearby Dade County — as well as as Lathrop, Montgomery County and Maries County.

The Miller school board voted 5-1 Monday to approve the change with little discussion. The 153-day year will include longer days so students will not lose any instructional time.

"Even though it's the same number of hours, we can't teach the same way," Hankins said Tuesday.

She said professional development will be front-loaded at the start of the calendar and teachers will work on making the instruction more engaging. Miller and Pierce City school officials are also talking about doing some joint training.

Hankins said the district will work through the spring and summer to ease the transition to a new calendar.

"Utilizing every minute of instructional time is important and keeping students on task and engaged will be important. The teachers have expressed excitement for the opportunity to allow students additional time to complete projects and have deep discussions and lessons during one complete instructional time," she said.

Miller officials believe the switch will save the district up to $175,000 and, with more training scheduled when students are not in class, significantly reduce the need for paying substitutes.

The four-day week will include fewer transitions during the week, which Hankins said will result in more concentrated learning time.

"Students' appointments may be scheduled on Mondays so that they do not have to miss important class time. When students are in class, their student achievement increases," Hankins wrote.

Hankins said Miller's location, about 30 miles from Springfield and 45 to Joplin, make it difficult to retain quality teachers because they can drive to another district and make more.

She said while the board wants to offer competitive salaries, there are limitations.

"The financial constraints of a small district cannot compete with suburban districts. We often lose very good teachers to districts who have salary schedules that are higher than that of Miller schools," she said. "According to our staff survey, the four-day week will allow our district to not only retain teachers, but likely recruit teachers to our district."