From
time to time, Education World updates and reposts an archived article
that we think might be of interest to administrators. We hope you find
this recently updated article to be of value…
Test scores were on the downswing; unfunded state mandates were on the
rise. There was not enough money, not enough time. What is a superintendent
to do? Lewis Diggs, Superintendent of Schools in Saratoga, Arkansas, might
have found the answer for his system in the four-day school week.
Saratoga, Arkansas, made news last year when the school district announced
its plan to experiment with a four-day school week. The tiny (under 300),
rural, K-12 system was beset by low test scores, increased (and unfunded)
state mandates, and a looming tax increase.
The Arkansas legislature had passed legislation in the spring of 1997
allowing school districts to shorten the school week as long as the total
number of hours students attended school remained the same. Saratoga was
the first system in Arkansas to take advantage of that law. Students began
attending school four days each week instead of five at the beginning
of the 1997-98 school year. Students attended school 142 days instead
of the state-required 178 days. (The 1998-99 school calendar again calls
for 142 days.)
Now that the school year has ended, Education World spoke with Lewis
Diggs, Superintendent of Schools in Saratoga.
SOMETHING TO PROVE!
Diggs admits that Saratoga teachers and students received a boost from
the publicity surrounding their experiment with the four-day week.
"Several state board members were opposed to the four-day week," Diggs
told Education World. "They came out against it in the newspaper and said
that they would try to stop it or get it changed the next legislative
session. [That attitude] fired up our teachers who wanted to show the
legislators that it would work."
"I think it helped the morale of our students," adds Diggs. "They were
able to read a lot about Saratoga in the papers and [they knew] they were
part of something special, something different. The assistant director
from the state department spoke recently at our graduation and he told
the students that they were making history. They were part of the first
four-day school week in Arkansas."
Superintendent Diggs started the year slowly, making adjustments as
needed and adding programs when it was possible. He sees the experiment
as offering more, not less to the students of Saratoga.
"We have an extra day to bring kids in, to tutor more kids -- an extra
day to do more things with more kids," says Diggs. "And it also gives
us a chance save some money. We've added a tutoring program, a reading
recovery program, a preschool program for children ages 3 to 5, and we're
going to bring in kids needing extra help for 5 weeks this summer."
Diggs told Education World that the teachers' contract, as far as dollars
were concerned, was not affected because the teachers are working the
same number of hours they had been working before. The change did affect
non-certified staff and the district realized savings.
THE SCHOOL DAY -- 90 MINUTES MORE
The school day for all Saratoga students -- including the full-day kindergartens
-- was increased by 90 minutes. A longer recess, snacks, and a variety
of activities helped younger students through the longer day. "They seem
to do real well," says Diggs.
One area of concern had been childcare arrangements, but after the first
month, parents found that "...it was less trouble to find someone for
all day Monday than for a few hours every day of the week."
MONDAYS OFF -- FOR SOME
The new school week runs from Tuesday through Friday but some students
and teachers are there on Mondays as well. Tutorials are run for students
who need extra help.
"The first semester, we tried to require the students who [scored] under
the 50th percentile to come in and we offered extra help and tutoring
for high school courses such as trigonometry, or physics," explained Diggs.
"And we let students sign up in advance so we would know what teachers
to bring in. In that first semester, we did not have a big turnout."
During that first semester, no transportation was provided for Monday
tutorial students -- families had to provide the transportation. However,
by the second semester, it was obvious that money was being saved and
officials realized that they could provide bus transportation to the tutorials.
"During the second semester we started running the bus and we brought
in different groups each Monday," Diggs explained. "We had a good turnout
...when we actually went and picked up the students."
Mondays were not always for the same students. Many groups attended
tutorials every other Monday or every third Monday. They had a little
break and the teachers did too.
The teachers who provided tutoring sessions on Mondays were paid for
their time and many of them had the opportunity to participate. Teachers
signed up for the days and subjects they were available to teach and student
groups were matched to them.
"Teachers were paid extra, by the hour," said Diggs. "We asked [teachers]
to sign up if they were interested, and the majority said they would [be
interested]."
IMPROVED ATTENDANCE FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS
Although many teachers work fewer days than some other professionals
do, teaching is a job where teacher attendance is mandatory when school
is in session. When a teacher is absent, whatever the reason, a substitute
must be brought in and paid. In many other professions, work can be made
up later, or can be covered by others in the workplace. Teachers have
the same personal responsibilities as others and they often find it difficult
to schedule "real life."
"[Student] attendance was better. Teacher attendance improved," says
Diggs. "Teachers had a day they could schedule appointments.... [The better
teacher attendance] cut down on discipline problems because students had
their regular teachers more of the time. Students had a day they could
go to allergy doctors, dermatologists..."
MEASURING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT
Saratoga test scores have been among the lowest in the state. Diggs
hoped to raise student achievement levels with the switch to a four-day
week. With longer classes each day, teachers could address more questions
during class time and students could often begin homework assignments
before leaving school. Mr. Diggs feels positive but points out that the
four-day week itself did not make the difference.
"In Arkansas ... the Stanford tests are not given until fall," says
Diggs. "We will know about test scores then, for grades 5, 7, and 10.
But it is not anything the four-day week did; it is what we did with the
four-day week. If you just go to a four-day week, nothing different will
happen. But we added extra programs and extra help, and we're hoping it
will show up really well in September."
CHANGES FOR THE 98-99 SCHOOL YEAR
The plans for the 1998-99 school year call for continuing the successes
of this year. EW asked Diggs whether other changes were in the works:
"Nothing big, but we're still adjusting our program. [We hope
to] extend the first-grade reading recovery program into the first three
grades, we've added the accelerated reader program, and are considering
other programs. The first year has been trial and error, but [this next
year] will get off to a much faster start. We'll make changes as the year
goes by."
Many other school systems are examining ways to improve student learning
and control costs. The advice Lewis Diggs would give reflects the importance
of the entire school community in major decisions:
"First of all, start with the faculty. Make sure the majority
of them are in favor of the change. Then go to the community. You need
to have your faculty and community behind you, especially your faculty
... they are the ones who have to make it work."
"We did surveys, before we ever started this, explaining what we were
trying to do," adds Diggs. "Community members were in favor of not having
a tax increase. At the end of the year, we had very few negative comments.
The people basically say they'll do whatever is best for the school."
"Other communities have to figure out their needs and go first to their
teachers," says Diggs. "[A four-day week] will not work everywhere. We
are in a rural area about 30 miles from the closest big city. Larger places
might have different concerns."
Diggs is pleased with faculty, student, and community response at the
end of the school year. Many of the concerns they had going in have been
worked out. And leaders of the school system have learned and made changes
along the way. This school year, Diggs says, has been a good example to
students of being able to adjust to and learn from an experience.
School
Gives High Marks to a Four-Day Week
A February Christian Science Monitor story visits Saratoga, Arkansas,
half-way through the first year of their four-day school weeks.
Rural
Schools See Dividends in Four-Day Weeks
When the leaders of a rural school district in South Dakota decided to
adopt a four-day school week, they had a familiar example to follow. The
district 30 miles down the road had done it already.
Four-Day
School Week Draws Fans
More small districts can choose to change schedules, which some say will
save on buses, utilities and lunches.
The Four-Day
Week
A "background paper" created by the Hot Spring (South Dakota) District
Schools.
From
time to time, Education World updates and reposts an archived article
that we think might be of interest to administrators. We hope you find
this recently updated article to be of value…