Washington State Schools to Consider 4-Day Weekly Schedule

I feel like since the dawn of my birth I’ve heard people talking about shortening the work week and only working 4 days a week. Did I ever think this would happen? No. But he is!

4-day work schedules are implemented around the world.

“Iceland. Cold little Iceland – a country with a population of just over 350,000 – actually has more workers working a four-day week than almost anywhere else in the world. ” – Source

But what about our schools? Will 4-day school days become the norm?

Although we still have some time before this becomes a “norm”, BUT there are already several schools in Washington State that have a 4 day school week.

• Waterville School District in Douglas County
• Selkirk and Cusick school districts in Pend Oreille County
• Paterson School District in Benton County
• Bickleton School District in Klickitat County

However, let’s take a deeper look. What are the advantages and disadvantages ?

We’ll go ahead and start with the cons.

And now for the pros

Life doesn’t stop for Ag. But the workers do.

Let’s face it, Eastern Washington is an entire agricultural community, from the Waterville Plateau to the tributaries of the Columbia River, how could we fit that schedule into a school schedule? You can not.

Pateros School District in Okanogan County was the last school on my radar to get involved, implementing a 4-day school week.

“In this competitive process, only applications from 30 schools would be accepted. Pateros will collaborate with students, families, staff and the community. All stakeholders will have the opportunity to share their opinions. If there is support overall, it will be presented to the school board for review at the board’s April 29 meeting. The board’s recommendation will determine whether or not we submit an application for state review -Source.

For more information on how the Pateros School District will proceed and decide, here is the FAQ sheet.

Do you want a 4 day school week? How about a 4-day work week?