Mineral Wells ISD launches four-day school week

MINERAL WELLS, Texas — As the colourful crossing guard helped kids alongside the road at Mineral Well ISD’s Houston Elementary School, she wished college students a very good weekend.

Weekends at Mineral Wells ISD colleges start early after the district carried out a four-day school week for the brand new school 12 months.

Students and academics have school Monday via Thursday, and their three-day weekend begins on Friday.

A majority of fogeys of Houston Elementary college students instructed WFAA they help the swap to a shorter school week.

Sheena Dow was amongst those that are celebrating.

“I love it,” Dow stated. “I love every moment I get with my kids. An extra day with them makes me happy. Everyone needs more balance.”

Another mum or dad, Gabriela Gonzalez, instructed WFAA she needed to swap her work schedule to regulate to the brand new change.

“It’s something new, it’s different,” Gonzalez stated.

Mineral Wells ISD Superintendent John Kuhn stated over the past 12 months a number of academics in his district left, opting to show at neighboring colleges the place districts supplied a four-day week.

The lack of academics led Kuhn and school leaders to re-evaluate how they might retain academics, and it might take greater than providing extra pay.

“We found that [a four-day week] was a more popular option than we would’ve thought,” Kuhn stated.

Of the district’s academics, 87% supported a four-day week, Kuhn stated.

“It’s really imperative for school districts to think outside the box,” Kuhn stated.

That’s what he did, and the four-day school week grew to become actuality.

His district’s choice to modify comes as colleges throughout North Texas and past are struggling to fill instructor vacancies.

This school 12 months, Mineral Wells ISD is welcoming college students again with zero instructor vacancies. It’s unclear if the four-day week may be immediately attributed for attracting academics, Kuhn stated.

“I think it’s worth it,” Kuhn stated. “My staff is really excited.”

He hopes the additional time off will assist academics handle their take-home workload. On Fridays, the district may even provide skilled improvement alternatives for academics.

To make up the school days misplaced, the district began the school 12 months earlier and prolonged the 12 months by a week. Additionally, school days are actually round half-hour longer than they have been earlier than.

After some mother and father raised concern about discovering little one care when school is closed on Fridays, Kuhn and his district got here up with a possible resolution.

The district is providing an elective remediation day, or a catch-up day, on Fridays for college students in fourth grade and beneath. 

The district will present college students with meals on the Friday remediation. All college students will go residence with meals for the three-day weekend because of the Backpack Buddy program.

Parents who can’t discover little one care on Fridays have the choice to signal their kids as much as attend school on Friday, Kuhn stated.

“Ultimately, whatever we do, the goal is to do what’s best for kids ,” Kuhn stated.

Kuhn stated if the district’s STAAR check outcomes enhance on the finish of the school 12 months, the four-day week will stick round for good.