Plans for Four-Day School Week Taking Shape As Pe Ell Prepares to Submit Application

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Barring an unexpected denial by the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Pe Ell School District will have a little more than two months to adjust everything under its purview for what will be the first four-day school week in Washington west of the Cascades.

“Hopefully we won’t be building a plane while it’s flying, but we’ll be doing that a little bit just because it hasn’t been done before,” said Pe Ell Superintendent Kyle MacDonald.

District officials have until May 31 to submit their application for an Economy and Efficiency Waiver to OSPI following a vote of approval taken Monday by the Pe Ell School Board. They expect to hear back from the state no later than June 14 as to whether they make the cut for one of five spots available to districts that feel holding fewer than 180 school days per year, while still meeting the minimum hours of instruction required by state law, would be beneficial to everyone from administrative staff to teachers and students.

Pe Ell plans to hold classes from 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday, with Fridays set aside for activities such as professional development, student enrichment, academic support and more. Principal Brandon Pontius pushed for the change, and said tentative plans call for the building to be open to students two Fridays of each month except November and December.

“We’ll hopefully have the gym open, the library, and the computer lab,” Pontius said. “We’ll have some opportunities for kids who need that extra support on those days, too. We’ll have professional development time on another Friday, with nothing going on at the school on the rest.”

The prospect of seeking a waiver has been met with mixed reactions from members of the Pe Ell Community. A majority of the respondents to a survey offered by the school district indicated they favor the move, but others raised concerns over the impact a three-day weekend could have on non-academic aspects such as the nutrition program, athletics and the need for working families to find additional childcare.



Pontius said Wednesday that while nothing is set in stone, the district believes it will be able to make some options available to offset at least some of those concerns. The district plans to work with the local food bank as well as some teachers who want to set up a weekend food pantry for children in need. The possibility of a take-home lunch or food bag for the long weekend has also been discussed.

“We want to see how many people these things are going to affect, first.” Pontius said. “We’ll do a needs assessment and make sure people have what they need.”

The district will be required to submit an annual report to OSPI showing the positive or negative effects a four-day week has on student performance. Additional factors such as attendance will also be reviewed by the state. Waivers are granted for three years at a time, but either the state or the district can pull the plug and return to a five-day week after just one year.

Another concern the district believes it can alleviate before the fall is that of classified staff and para-educators who are paid by the hour and fear the loss of a school day could affect their wallets. MacDonald will need to negotiate changes to the district’s collective bargaining agreements with the teachers and the classified staff, respectively, but is confident there are ways to avoid a widespread loss of hours.

“The school day will be a little longer, so there’s time before the day starts,” MacDonald said. “There’s the after school program we want to have, enrichment activities on Fridays, and some other ideas we have, like credit retrieval for high school kids. I think we can do it.”