Community Debates Four-Day School Week at Keota Forum

KEOTA – The Keota Community District is currently looking into switching to a four-day school week, beginning in the fall semester of 2024. According to a survey sent out by the district, more than 70% of parents, students, staff members and community members support the switch. However, many people still have concerns about potential problems a four-day-week could bring.

A public forum was held in the high school lobby on Feb. 22, where principals, staff, and school board members discussed the plans with the public. Elementary and Middle School Principal Seth Milledge began the forum with an explanation of the new schedule. Currently, school days begin at 8:15 a.m. at the high school and 8:20 at the elementary. Under the new plan, the school day would begin at 8:00 and end at 3:45, for an extra 35/45 minutes per day. This is a raise to 440 minutes per day from 405. State regulations require schools to have at least 1,080 hours of instruction, or 180 six hour days. Under the new plan, Keota will switch to 149 days for a total of 1,092 hours of instruction. Staff will arrive at 7:30 and leave at 4:30. Teachers will also have a professional development day every other Friday.

One attendee was unsure about this math, noting that losing an entire day each week and gaining only two hours and 20 minutes sounds like a loss in teaching time. Milledge explained that the district will also end early out Wednesdays and have Friday classes every other week at the start of the semester and on weeks where Mondays are holidays. Brennamen noted that, because of the early outs, Wednesdays are currently “wasted days” where some students do not show up.

The same attendee asked how many days teachers will work. Superintendent and High School Principal Lisa Brenneman stated that has not been decided yet. Milledge stated that, including scheduled professional development days, it will likely be 169 and a half days.

An attendee asked about snow days; Milledge stated that the district could use Fridays to make up snow days. Brennamen noted it was important to get out before Memorial day, which the new calendar ends the Thursday before.

An attendee asked about early bus routes, noting that her children are the first on the route and are picked up at 6:58. Milledge noted that buses would have to pick up kids roughly fifteen minutes earlier and leave roughly fifteen minutes later at the end of the day. Elementary Secretary Crystial Wright noted that the district should review bus routes and make sure they are as efficient as they can be. Brennamen noted that the state limit on bus ride lengths is one hour and that lengths should not change with the new schedule. An attendee noted that plow drivers would not open roads any earlier after snowstorms; a county employee in attendance confirmed this, but noted that 15 minutes would not change whether schools would be open.

Brennamen noted that Fridays are typically more lax days, which is why Friday was chosen as the off day. Brennamen stated that the district struggles to find substitute teachers, especially on Fridays, noting that the previous week, the district had five teachers missing on Friday but could not find any subs. An attendee asked why substitutes would come to Keota, if the day is longer, meaning subs would be paid less per hour than other schools. Milledge stated that schools already have different schedules. “That’s the thing, do you want paid on that day or don’t you?..If you’re looking for a sub job, you’re going to take the call, and that’s your choice, whether you want to come or don’t,” said Milledge.

Brennamen stated that the four-day week will be good for morale and allow students to be more rested. She noted that the extra professional development time will improve student performance, as will the extra planning time. Brennamen explained that, next year, chronic absenteeism will be factored into state rankings and that he hopes a four-day week will help address that issue. Milledge noted that Fridays already feature the most absences, from both staff and students. An attendee asked how the school will keep Thursdys from becoming the new Friday. Brennamen said it had been discussed.

Milledge stated that, at the elementary, computer science and library time would be combined to account for the missing day. Brennamen stated that Eagle Advisory will likely be moved to the end of the day, to account for travel time for shared sports with Sigourney. She also brought up starting practices earlier or using Eagle Advisory time for remediation. An attendee asked if students would be punished by coaches for missing practice time because they needed Eagle Advisory. Brennamen stated “probably” and called it motivation to keep grades up. Eagle Advisory time will count towards school hours.

Brennamen brought up the fact that Moravia, Cardinal, Moulton-Udell and Waco had all switched to four-day weeks in the past and that other districts like Pekin, Washington and Highland were also looking into switching. Brennamen noted that Keota is a small, rural school that has a “heck of a time attracting quality teachers.” “We would like to use this to try and attract more students and if we can attract and retain teachers, that’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Brennamen.

Brennamen explained she and Milledge had met with the principals and superintendents of multiple schools, including Waco. According to Brennamen, Waco added 110 students after switching to a four-day week. She also noted that Waco receives 13-16 applications for open positions but used to only see one or two. Keota currently receives only one or two applications for most openings. “That’s something that we’re hoping this will help. There’s no guarantee. I don’t know. We’ll see what happens,” said Brennamen.

School Board President Billie Kindred stated that the four-day week would give students the opportunity to be at school instead of having to take time off for appointments. One attendee noted her dentist is not open on Fridays. An attendee stated she was concerned about whether teachers would be able to keep students busy for longer school days. A teacher in attendance said she would take those extra minutes “in a heartbeat.” “Our job is to be entertainers, to a certain extent...good teachers put on a show. We should be able, as good teachers, be able to keep those kids captivated for another 35 minutes,” said the teacher.

An attendee stated that she had attended Keota and one of the “amazing things” about the school was the ability to be involved in multiple extracurriculars and said she was worried about students being able to do as many things, due to longer days. Brennamen stated that Fridays will be rest days, allowing students to recover after doing more during the week. Brennamen noted that practices will not be allowed on Fridays until after noon, to give students a chance to rest.

An attendee asked how students will get to and from school for practices on Friday. Milledge stated that associates could potentially pick up students with the school vans. An attendee noted that the four-day week would allow families to go on three-day weekend vacations and spend more time on family time.

Brennamen stated that students are excited about the four-day week, because it gives them time to get a job or start babysitting services. She noted that a lack of daycare was a big concern initially at the districts she had met with, but that the concern had disappeared by the time the four-day week began. She explained that Maravia started a daycare to accompany the shorter week, but no one used it, because parents found other forms of childcare. A parent with three young children pushed back on this, noting the cost of childcare can be hard on families. “Whether you’re paying a high school student or child care center or you’re paying grandma...it’s still an added cost that is really difficult for some families,” said the parent. “And that’s, I would say, the number one really hesitation we have...I heard you say it can attract students. I am worried about potentially losing students if they can go to a surrounding school and not have to even worry about the childcare issue. There’s not even a childcare program in our community and now we’re adding to that problem...So it’s nice to hear you say that other communities have somehow figured it out, but does see, really scary, as parents of little ones, how we’re going to make that work and what that means to full time working parents.”

Board member Jim Tinnes said that he is in favor of the four-day week because, from what he’s read, 90% of schools will be on a four-day program in five years. Brennamen noted that 125 districts in Missouri have made the switch. “This is going to be a problem we’re going to find, no matter where you go…We kinda thought, as a board, if we’re gonna do it, we want to be one of the first to do it,” said Tinnes. “Now we know there’s gonna be a lot of things we have to work out. And what I’m scared of is going to be the problems that come up that we have to address along the way. But that’s why I think it’s so important to have these, to get everyone’s concerns, because the last thing I want to do, as a board member, is to vote on something that’s gonna be disastrous.”

The parent urged the school to look into the childcare option and look at the long term effects of the four-day week, noting that families who “jumped ship” and were scared by the change would not have their children enter Keota High School later on. She again noted the “outrageous” cost of childcare. Milledge noted that, of the 127 parents surveyed, 30 had concerns about childcare, including him. He stated the district had “irons in the fire” for a daycare solution, but could not guarantee anything. Kindred stated that, for the past three years, daycare had been the most discussed topic of the school board and that the board was working on it.

Brennamen stated that the district had not just jumped into a four-day week and had done the research. According to the schools Brennamen spoke with, the change to a four-day week didn’t sway test scores one way or the other. Brennamen noted that the schools who made the switch were all top schools. An attendee asked the principals if they were top schools because  ofthe switch to a four-day week, or if they were good schools before making the switch. Milledge explained that Waco made the switch ten years ago and has had great test scores in the past five years. He noted that the four-day week schools all scored high on Conditions for Learning. “That’s ‘what is school like? What do you feel like when you’re there? What’s the learning environment?’ Things like that. I have to think that…to know that they have that one less day, that day with a grandma or grandpa or a family member, things like that, they come to school a little happier. They leave school a little happier...It can’t just be about the four day. They also have great leadership there. I worked there as their tech director before I came here. They have wonderful teachers, they have a good group of kids, but they’ve gained kids and brought kids in from all kinds of different areas and they find a place there, too. I think that’s positive to look at, in terms of Conditions for Learning in that school.”

Milledge noted that Waco and his hometown, Pleasentville, were the first two schools to switch to a four-day week. Waco has stuck with it for ten years, while Pleasantville changed their minds after a single semester and has been five days since. An attendee asked why Pleasantville changed back. Milledge did not know, but said he could look into it. Milledge stated that Waco took a chance and it paid off for them and attracted students from Mount Pleasant and Washington. He stated that he could not say for sure that the change would attract students, but that, from what he’d seen, students and teachers at Waco were happy.

A parent asked about marketing to surrounding areas to attract new students. Brennamen stated that all schools are competing for students, thanks to open enrollment laws. She stated that the planned new school website and interviews on KCII help market the school. She stated Keota could put ads in papers, although that is frowned upon among superintendents.

An attendee asked about recess; Milledge stated that the school plans to continue having 50 minutes of recess per day. A parent asked about elementary students being tired, because of the longer days. She also noted that many students will not be able to get jobs on Fridays, due to practices being scheduled on that day. A parent asked about food insecure students, who will not get breakfast and lunch on Friday. Brennamen stated that the district had talked about starting a sack lunch program, but were told it was not allowed.

Tinnes, who is also on the library board, stated that the library board plans to reopen the library on Friday, so kids that have no place to go have someplace to be on Fridays. An attendee brought up the idea that the extra day off could lead to a rise in “rambunctiousness” and vandalism. Milledge stated that, on early out days, teachers “run around like a chicken with your head cut off” and have to scramble to get things done and that the extra time would be nice. He stated again that the professional development time would “pay off wonders.” “People think that PD time is a waste of time, but it doesn’t have to be,” said Brennamen. “Well executed professional development, it’s one of the things that will directly affect your classrooms the most. But, they have to have time to process what we’re doing and apply it to what they do in their classrooms. And that’s what our goal is with this right now. They don’t get that and we rush through everything, and then they leave and we don’t see them again for two more weeks, and they’re trying to prep six classes. I just think it gives us an opportunity to communicate with our staff and really work with them.”

A parent noted that teachers get 15 days off per year and asked if teachers could take 15 Thursdays off. Brennaman said this was a concern and the school may have to institute blackout days, where teachers are not allowed to take time off. Wright stated that the district should be careful to not cut benefits from staff while trying to attract new staff, but that there needs to be some control over how the time off is used. Milledge stated staff will likely use Fridays as off days.

“I don’t want you guys to think this is something we’re just jumping in, because we’ve talked about this for a while,” said Tinnes. “We thought that it was important to not let it out, because we didn’t want to plant the seed in other school districts, if that makes sense...We’re trying to look into this as much as we can. The last thing I want to do is make a decision that is going to cost us. When Lisa first approached us, I was against it. I got on the Department of Education website, it’s overwhelmingly positive. I mean, you’re talking 88% positive. Daycares seem to come up over and over and by the time schools started, it wasn’t an issue at all. I don’t know how they worked it out, but it seemed to work out…We don’t want this to cost the teachers a penny. They’re gonna stay the same. That was a valid concern. We’ve tried to look into it the best we can. I’m sure there’s going to be stuff that comes up that maybe we didn’t think about that we didn’t hear about, and hopefully we can cross those things when it happens.”

An additional forum will be held on Feb. 29, at 6:00 p.m., in the high school lobby.