Community considers benefits, challenges of a four-day school week for Southern Boone

Southern Boone School District is considering moving to a four-day school week, a growing trend among Missouri school districts, for the 2026-27 school year.

According to the district website, the appointed Four-Day School Week Special Committee has been meeting and carefully reviewing research, numeric and anecdotal data, teacher and parent input, and potential benefits and disadvantages of the alternative schedule.

The district will host an informational community program at 6 p.m. Oct. 9 in the Southern Boone Middle School Cafeteria. The program will include a panel of administrators from other school districts who have made the switch, district Public Relations Director Matt Sharp said. Attendees can submit questions ahead of time on the district website.

The district said that all “surveys, committee discussions, and community presentations” are ongoing. A final proposal will be presented to the Board of Education in December for a formal vote.

Struggling to improve teacher recruitment and retention

District officials announced the proposal in June, citing the move as “part of a broader initiative to address teacher recruitment and retention, promote work-life balance and enhance student engagement and well-being.”

A four-day school week “offers a competitive edge against larger nearby school districts, improves work-life balance, and supports professional growth,” district officials said.

According to the 2025-2026 annual budget, the district increased administrative and certified pay by 4%, increased the hourly wage for several other staff positions and created an array of new benefits in an attempt to retain and recruit staff.

Data from a September 2024 report from the Prime Center at Saint Louis University suggests teachers may be responsive to the shorter workweek.

A national survey found that two-thirds of educators would favorably view a job offer from a school on a four-day week. However, as the research points out, “only two studies to date have examined the actual impact of 4DSW calendars on teacher retention.”

According to the Prime Center report, one such study found “small, but positive, effects on adopting districts…” while an August 2025 report found that “beneficial teacher recruitment and retention effects are most prevalent in rural schools” and “in states where the four-day school week is motivated by teacher recruitment and retention efforts.”

In response to a question on the district’s four-day school week FAQ page, “Why not raise salaries instead of changing the calendar?” the district stated that “revenue limits make salary increases alone difficult. A four-day week may offer a competitive advantage without requiring a tax increase.”

A report from the Hallsville School District claimed that after changing to a four-day school week, the number of applicants for teaching positions and the tenure of respective applicants increased.

Several anecdotal reports from other Missouri and Arkansas school districts claimed they observed similar impacts on their hiring pool after making the change.

Of the 149 Southern Boone staff who responded to an early district survey in July, 80.1% said they would be more likely to continue their employment with the district if it moved to a four-day school week. However, 20.8% said they were not in favor of the change.

Longer school days, calendar adjustment

State law requires Missouri public schools to be in session for a minimum of 1,044 hours a year with no number of required days as of 2018. Each school day would be made slightly longer to ensure students receive the same amount of instruction.

According to the district, the proposed school day would be 7:50 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. for students. The week’s “off-day” would be on Mondays, and the current early dismissal on Wednesdays would be eliminated.

A sample calendar on the district website shows 31 additional days off for students and one Monday each month for professional development days for teachers and staff. Students would begin school on Aug. 25, 2026, and end on May 28, 2027.

Benefits and disadvantages of the four-day school week

The special committee has identified several potential benefits of a four-day school week from a combination of secondary research and anecdotal data from Missouri school districts that have made the change.

Attendance and minimized disruption are two benefits listed on the district website. Teachers will have full days reserved for professional development rather than having to take time away from class. Students will have increased flexibility for scheduling appointments and out-of-school activities; 73.7% of the 790 parents who responded to the July survey felt this benefit would apply to their family. The district said that these two factors will lead to decreased disruption and increased consistency during in-classroom hours.

The district would not benefit financially from the change, as nearby four-day districts reported negligible savings. A 2021 study in the National Tax Journal showed average savings to only be between 1% and 2%.

The district also lists improved mental health and well-being for students and teachers as a potential benefit. The majority of parents indicated in the survey that additional time for rest, vacations and family quality time would be a benefit.

However, 33% of respondents did not check any of the listed benefits as a potentially applying to their family.

In the survey, the district asked parents what “fifth-day options” their student might participate in. Their responses included:

• Time for college visits
• Potential for field trips
• Availability for students to work part-time
• Participating in an internship or job shadowing
• A+ volunteer opportunities
• Tutoring and other enhanced learning opportunities

When it comes to areas of concern, 55% of respondents expressed concern about a longer school day. The special committee raised the issue at a meeting on Sept. 8, when some board members asked if engagement or attention would be a problem for younger learners. Primary School Principal Brandy Clark and a few other primary and elementary teachers said they felt that the change would not make kids any more restless than they already were, and that it would not significantly impact attentiveness in the classroom.

The district stated that no matter the length of the school day, its educators will “continue to focus on providing relevant, engaging curriculum throughout the school day.”

Although students would receive the same curriculum and the same number of instructional hours as they would on a five-day calendar, 44.6% of parents indicated they were concerned about a potential adverse effect on learning from losing a day in the classroom.

A technical report prepared for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education in December 2023 found that a four-day school week was “neither helpful nor harmful for academic achievement or building growth in Missouri,” as also indicated in national data. Results showing any positive or negative indications were very small with little to no statistical significance.

Twenty-four percent of parent respondents indicated concern about the negative impacts on students who participate in the Buddy Pack meal program or receive free and reduced meal pricing.

District officials mentioned the district could work with community partners to expand the Southern Boone Buddy Pack Program or collaborate with Opaa! for potential meal pick-up options on Mondays for free and reduced meal students.

About a quarter of parents in the survey said they had no concerns about the change.

Other areas of concern identified by board and committee members, parents, teachers and parents from other districts include:

• Impacts on students in special education programs, including:
• IEP students
• Gifted program
• Section 504 students
• English Language Learners
• Students experiencing homelessness and students in foster care
• Inequity in access to extra programs that the district may offer on Mondays
• Widening of academic achievement gaps
• Impact on time available for extracurriculars
• Realistic expectations of teachers on “days off”
• Effect on traffic patterns and bus routes

Child care concerns, impact on working parents

The most prominent concern about the change among Southern Boone parents and staff is child care on Mondays.

Fifty-six percent of parent respondents said they would need a method of child care for their students if the district made the change.

Tina Langdon, a mom of three Southern Boone students in fourth, eighth, and tenth grades, said she tried to keep an open mind when the district first announced the consideration, but ultimately has difficulty seeing how the benefits outweigh the risks.

“It puts a burden on parents,” she said, later highlighting single-parent, two-working-parent, and low-income households, in particular.

“I worry about them.”

The Independence School District switched to a four-day work week in 2023. To resolve some child care concerns among parents, the district partnered with Kids’ Safari, a large local day care program, to offer full-day child care on the off days.

Between Ashland and Hartsburg, there are only nine licensed day care centers, ranging in ages accepted, capacity, price and methodology.

Julia White, local owner of Eagle Achievers Academic Center, said that the New Bloomfield location offers its students full-day care on Mondays in addition to regular before- or after-school care. She said the Ashland center would provide the same for its current students if Southern Boone switched to a four-day week.

District officials have mentioned they are “exploring the option” to offer district-provided child care for “a nominal fee,” or partnering with local day care centers to accommodate needs for families with working parents. However, no definite plans have been made.

The district will continue to gather feedback on a four-day school week through the community presentation on Oct. 9 and future surveys before a final vote in December.