Pe Ell School District Superintendent Kyle Macdonald, third from the left, listens to members of the school board Monday night during a work session at the school.
More than 150 surveys filled out by members of the Pe Ell School District community show a population more supportive of a four-day school week than not, but with a number of lingering questions still unanswered as the school board works to potentially vote on the change later this month.
The Chronicle obtained and examined a total of 153 surveys filled out online prior to April 26. Questions included what grade levels a family’s children are in, whether the respondents had attended informational meetings or read brochures distributed by the district and if they were in favor of the switch.
District officials have raised the option during recent months as a way to increase professional development time for teachers while adding class time to each day. Those who oppose the change have cited concerns that a longer class day would be a burden for younger students and athletes, as well as the issue of childcare on Fridays.
Of survey respondents, 57.5 percent marked they are in favor of a four-day week, with 31.4 percent against it and 11.1 percent not holding an opinion. The school board met Monday night for a special work session on the subject and has another scheduled for 6 p.m. on Tuesday.
The next regular meeting of the board, at which some anticipate a vote on whether to submit the needed waiver application to the state Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI), is set for May 20. Legislation co-sponsored by state Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama, increased the number of school districts statewide allowed to seek permission for fewer than the required 180 school days per academic year.
“There’s five new slots open, and we’ve heard some buzz from other districts that might be interested in applying,” said Pe Ell Principal Brandon Pontius. “We’re still working on researching some things, like possible student enrichment opportunities for those Fridays, but I think we’ve worked to address some of the concerns people have raised, like the length of the school day.”
The amount of daily class time for students in a four-day format would approach seven hours, not including a lunch period. Some parents of younger students, particularly those in second grade or below, believe a four-day week would lead to less sleep and more stress for their kids.
Families with children more than a few grades apart, such as one that reported having one child in the third grade and one in high school, appear more open to the concept. Those with children just starting to climb the academic ladder skew the opposite direction.
“I can’t imagine how tired my kids will be with longer school hours,” wrote a parent of a kindergartener and another young child. “As of now, they are asleep by the time we get home or absolutely starving because lunch is at 11 (a.m.). Our kids play sports, this will make for longer days, less time to get homework done before sports, and less bath and relax time after sports because they will have to get right to bed.”
Pontius presented an additional scheduling option at the work session Monday, one that would move the start time back to 8:15 a.m., 15 minutes later than initially proposed. The school would need to account for that lost time in order to still hit the minimum amount of instruction hours mandated by OSPI. Pontius proposed doing so by holding classes on Fridays after Monday holidays such as Labor Day and Memorial Day.
Members of the school board also asked questions Monday about the possibility of a Tuesday-Friday week and other ways in which the district might be able to maintain its current class schedule over four days without having to add weeks of school onto the end of the calendar in June.
“There’s no statistical data that shows it affects their learning, but there’s always concern from parents that a longer day could do that,” said Pe Ell Superintendent Kyle Macdonald. “Parents of young kids are worried the day might become too long, so we were looking at different strategies. We want those parents to know we’re considering their concerns as part of our thinking through this.”
Those most in favor of switching to a four-day week were those who marked themselves on the survey to be district employees. The majority of those respondents identified themselves in their comments as teachers, though classified staff members could have also checked the same box.
Teachers have stated their support publicly during informational meetings due to the anticipated near-tripling of professional development time and the potential for them to complete non-classroom tasks before Saturday.
“As a parent, the 4 day week would allow my son a day of rest, family time and/or work or time to catch up on school work,” wrote one self-identified district employee. “With the amount of activities our youth participate in, an extra day would give the busiest student athletes recovery time. As a teacher, the professional development time would be invaluable in helping me be more prepared and intentional with my teaching and curriculum.”
An area of concern that figures to linger at least until May 20 is whether classified staff such as bus drivers and para-educators will see a pay reduction with one fewer class day per week. Their union as well as that of the teachers would need to sign off on changes resulting from the switch.
Macdonald said Wednesday that classified staff at other districts have seen reductions to their hours and pay as a result of a four-day week, but those districts went in that direction in order to save money. Pe Ell officials have said they wouldn’t save much money just from making the switch — most of the savings would come from reduced expenses for substitute teacher pay and bus fuel — and they are working to find ways to keep those with an hourly wage from losing money.
“What I’ve said is we’ll try to keep everyone’s hours, but can’t guarantee they’ll have the four-day week,” Macdonald said. “Say a para-educator is normally at 32 hours after Thursday but usually works 36 hours per week, maybe they’ll help kids for those four hours on Fridays. We don’t want to go with four 10-hour days for those employees, because the school day simply isn’t that long.”
