AREA LEADERS OFFER PRELIMINARY THOUGHTS
School districts in Platte County say they have no immediate plans to adopt a four-day week model, despite growing popularity with districts whose smaller enrollment numbers closely match three of the county’s four districts.
Until a few weeks ago, when Independence became the first larger district to announce a switch to a four-day week, a plan currently sweeping the state, with more than a quarter of Missouri districts adopting the plan, according to an article in the Missouri Independent.
The Independence School District, with about 14,607 students, recently became the largest district in the state to adopt the model. Independence will begin the four-day instructional model in the 2023-24 school year.
But none of the Platte County school districts, including Park Hill, whose enrollment at about 14,000 closely resembles that of Independence, have plans to consider the issue in the near future.
Two of the local districts—Platte County and West Platte—mentioned they might investigate the issue sometime in the future
The Landmark contacted by email and telephone each of the county’s four districts last week, prior to the start of the winter break: Platte County R-3, West Platte, North Platte, and Park Hill. At least one area district superintendent said the plan is not good for students.
“I’ve always been of the opinion that the more kids are in school, the better,” North Platte Superintendent Karl Matt said during a telephone interview. When asked about some of the advantages touted by other districts that have adopted the plan, including what they believe will be greater success in hiring and retaining teachers, Matt said those benefits were not enough to sway what he views as negative effects.
“You’d have to get pretty dire (in teacher hiring and retention) before it would be worthwhile,” he said.
Matt added that reducing instruction time, student access to a free lunch for those whose families qualify, and less time developing crucial socialization skills are all reasons he would not consider the plan for North Platte, which has an enrollment of 580 students.
The Landmark contacted an Independence district spokesperson to ask how many districts had inquired about the plan and their reaction to the district’s announcement, but they did not respond by The Landmark’s deadline.
However, the Independence district’s website states that the reasoning for the new model is based on teacher retention in which certified staff, in some cases, qualify for retirement at the low age of 52 “has created more teachers leaving the profession.” Therefore, more teachers may be willing to stay under the new model, solving “a large aspect of the teacher shortage,” according to the district website.
In a series of videos on the website, Independence Superintendent Dale Herl states the main motive for the change is teacher recruitment and retention. He addresses the benefits of the four-day week and includes a detailed look at the school day adjusted for the new model, which shows an increase of only a few minutes each day. Because instructional time increases, the amount of teacher planning time also increases, providing another benefit, according to the website.
However, some critics of the four-day plan said instead of reducing days per week the state legislature should consider raising teacher pay in an effort to attract and retain teachers. In the Independent article, legislator John Rizzo expressed frustration with the state’s teacher salary scale, pointing to the state’s status as 50th in the nation for average teacher pay.
Other experts quoted in the Independent article state the plan should have minimal academic impact on students.
Kelly Wachel, communications director at Park Hill, which qualifies as one of the larger Northland districts, said: “We’re not unlike other districts, looking at challenges,” she said, but Park Hill has not taken even preliminary steps needed to begin considering a four-day week plan, including surveying staff about their views.
“This is not something our school board is addressing at this time,” she said during a telephone interview, adding that “I’d like to see the data” that supports such a switch.
West Platte School District Superintendent John Rinehart wrote in an email that no member of the school board had “indicated an interest in a four day week.” He said while the model “may be beneficial to individual districts,” the board had not “broached the topic here beyond a superficial level.”
However, Rinehart stressed there was no obstacle standing in the way other than a lack of “groundswell of people who wish to initiate that discussion.”
Rinehart, who will retire at the end of the current school year, said West Platte officials had not surveyed parents or staff on the issue and believed that the model could provide some advantages in hiring and retention “in some instances.”
However, Rinehart stopped short of stating the model could be an absolute draw.
“Teachers, in my observation, are not necessarily attracted by ‘one thing’, but a combination of compensatory and cultural factors that may stimulate interest in a given school district,” he said.
He stressed that any future discussions about the issue could occur with a change in leadership, when the district’s current high school principal, Brock Dover, will take over as superintendent beginning in July 2023.
Laura Hulett, director of communications for the Platte County School District, said the district not only is aware of the four-day week adopted by Independence but also “has been in contact with their administration” to inquire about the plan’s details and feedback from families, staff, and the community.
But officials of the Platte County district, with a current enrollment of 4,217 students, stopped short of surveying their district’s staff or families. Hulett indicated the trend will persist.
“We expect this conversation will become more and more prevalent, and at some point in the future may be a discussion our board of education will want to explore,” Hulett wrote in an email.
Hulett further explained that Platte County District officials check many boxes before establishing the calendar each year, including consulting with staff and the community, which also consists of working with a calendar committee, comprised of teachers, support staff and parents.
“We feel confident our schools can continue to thrive in a five-day week with the necessary balance of student instruction, professional development for staff, and family support,” she wrote in answer to emailed questions. She said the district’s current 2023-’24 school year “draft calendar” reflects this balance, while honoring a regular five-day week model.”
Hulett said the proposed calendar includes “required student hours, teacher contract days, historical parent and staff survey data, parent and staff feedback regarding professional learning communities (PLC) as well as consideration of the alignment with other Northland districts from a programming perspective.”
However, Platte County School District officials have implemented one change during the upcoming school year to the way the district handles professional learning days by scheduling a two-hour early release to accommodate such days.
“The change in approach will provide teachers with more efficient and focused time for professional development, while reducing the number of days parents have to find day care alternatives for their children,” Hulett said.
Public review of the draft calendar continues through Monday, Jan. 9, she stated, and comments can be emailed to diggsv@plattecountyco.k12.mo.us. The board of education is scheduled to approve a final calendar at its regularly scheduled January meeting.