“I want you guys here five days a week,” said Principal Angie Pappas-Muyco.

Pappas-Muyco likely echoes the views of Parkway teachers and administrators when asked about a 4-day school week.

Four-day school weeks have become a topic of discussion around the St. Louis area, but not all teachers and administrators are on board with the idea.

What many don’t realize is that this is not a new idea. Missouri schools have actually had the option of a 4-day week since 2011 and over 30 percent of Missouri schools have taken advantage of this option.

In St. Louis County, last year the Fox C-6 school district tried to implement a 4-day school week for the 2024-2025 school year. However, it was met with heavy opposition from parents. 

Andy Waterman, Director of Communication for the Fox C-6 school district, had this to say about the parent feedback.

“So, actually some people would say that it was childcare, but it was not. That was one of the biggest topics of conversation. But the biggest reason for parents not wanting to go with it was simply learning. They didn’t think that squeezing an extra 40 minutes into every day to make it because you have to have a certain amount of hours in the state of Missouri in order for it to be a viable school week,” he said. 

Waterman also said parents were against having a longer school day–something that would have been necessary to accommodate a 4-day school week. 

“You also have to take into account that if the school day goes 40 minutes longer. Some of these parents are going to be out later and students are going to be out later because if they’re in athletics or band or anything like that. It just adds another 40 minutes to an hour onto their day.”

The Missouri state legislature on May 8, 2024 passed Bill 727. There were lots of things included in this bill like increasing teacher pay but another major thing this bill does is make it harder for certain school districts to switch to a 4-day school week. 

This bill makes it harder to have a 4-day school week because it says that cities with more than 30,000 people would have to hold a vote to have the day 4 school week implemented in there school district. 

Currently, the largest school district in Missouri to have a 4-day school week is the Independence School District near Kansas City. Independence switched to a 4-day school week before this bill was passed. the Independence School District did not have to hold a vote. 

The Parkway School District has a total population of 145,556 residents across 9 different cities. They are one of the biggest districts in the state. The Independence school district has a total population of 94,428. That’s over a 51,128 difference in population. 

Another difference is, before the change, the Independence School District had trouble retaining teachers. 

Parkway, on the other hand, does not have this issue. 

The way the schedule works for the Independence school district is that the district has every Monday off and students go to school Tuesday-Friday.

For obvious reasons, the topic of a four-day school week has been popular among students. 

Sophomore Gus Kurczynski expressed his opinion on a four-day school week

“If I had the choice I would choose a four-day week because I feel like it would really push students to get their work done on time because due dates would be a little tighter. Also from a mental health standpoint, students would be less stressed out from school and would not have to worry about so many things going on at once with different classes,” he said.

Not only are some students in favor of a 4-day school week but so are some teachers.

Spanish teacher Jennifer Sommer said she would be in favor of a 4-day school week. 

“Of course, the four-day week sounds much better in my opinion than a five-day week. Another day again to create a little balance in our lives. It helps students get caught up and ahead. And gives teachers time for professional development,” Sommer said. 

As highlighted by Sommer, 4-day school weeks would allow time for teachers to grade, prepare for classes, and have professional development. 

It would also give students a built-in mental health day each week which could positively affect attendance.

Also on the financial side of things, it would save the district’s money on electricity and other building operations which is why many schools in Missouri have gone to a 4-day school week.

On the other hand, the argument against a 4-day school week is the loss of educational time for students, and parents who work would have to provide child care for elementary children while they work 5 days a week.

Pappas-Muyco said Parkway doesn’t currently have any plans to explore a 4-day school week. 

“We are very lucky to be in a school district that has resources and opportunities for kids,” she said.