Another Colorado School District Switches To 4-Day Week

BRIGHTON, Colo. (CBS4) – Another school district in Colorado is making the switch to a four-day week.

Starting in August 2018, students at School District 27J will go to school Tuesday through Friday.

School District 27J  serves almost 18,000 students from the cities of Brighton, Commerce City, Henderson and Thornton, as well as portions of unincorporated portions of Adams, Broomfield and Weld Counties.

The district announced the decision Monday and released a guide to the new schedule on their website.

"I realize this will be a significant change for our students, their families, and the communities we are so fortunate to serve, but our district can no longer be expected to do more with less financial resources," said 27J Superintendent Dr. Chris Fiedler. "We are 100% committed to providing our students with the necessary skills and competencies that will enable a future far beyond graduation. To that end, I believe it is in our students' best interest to provide high quality, engaged teachers using 21st Century tools for learning four days a week rather than not have them five days a week."

The district released a statement saying the change will allow 27J Schools:

• To create a schedule that acts as an enticement for recruiting and retaining quality teachers;
• To create a schedule that meets 27J Schools' teaching and learning needs yet creates budget efficiencies that allow for the reallocation of resources to items more critical to our primary purpose;
• To reorganize and create time to support teacher development and preparedness for educating our students;
• To create a school calendar that elevates instructional time and minimizes disruptions to school staff; and
• To achieve these objectives through a schedule that is clean, clear, and concise, making it less difficult for families to manage.

District officials said they spent "many months exploring all aspects of a four-day student contact week and the impacts to students, teachers, parents and the community."

Officials said the district will provided fee based, full-day child care, on Mondays, at several school locations.

"Currently, ninety-eight school districts in Colorado, constituting 55% of the 178 school districts, plus one BOCES operated school and select schools of the Charter School Institute utilize the four-day school week as the structure for organizing their school year," officials stated.