Are Four Day School Weeks Better?

Should Portsmouth students go to school for four of five days a week? Portsmouth is a small school district in central Rhode Island. This town's council is not giving the schools enough money, so that is why there are so many budget cuts. Many of the decisions of the school system are pressured upon the school committee. This school's committee, like every school committee, has been elected to office by the parents and the town's people. Portsmouth should have a four day school week because the four day week saves money, provides extra opportunities for both parents and students, and gives students more time to get better grades.

First, Portsmouth schools will be able to save money with a four day school week. Saving money will be able to support sports, music, art and other extra activities. It's a proven fact that kids who do extra activities they love help them to do better in school and in life. A four day school week will cut 25% of the costs of transportation. To cut costs of transportation mean that there will be more money for the bus drivers to get more gas in their tanks and not have to pay an over the top price every week. The four day week may also cut funding and personal costs which helps provide money for books, lockers, the school, etc. Funds for school activities have been short lately, because the school system believes that by cutting fun activities for students will save the community money. According to Steve Peoples, a writer for The Providence Journal, Lusi, the Supt., "determined that the move to a four day school week would save about $341, 000, about 1 percent of the system's $30 million budget."

Secondly, Portsmouth's students and parents will be provided with extra opportunities on Friday if there was a four day school week. If there is a busy schedule between both parents during the day, Fridays off for students will help parents work and not worry about their kids if their kids were to go to a family member's house or sleep over a friend's house. Parents will save money if students go to their family or friends house instead of the parents hiring a baby sitter. A four day school week may come in handy if you have the entire Friday off to schedule appointments with doctors or dentists. If there was a Friday a student was taken out of school to go to the dentist, but the dentist was packed, he would be late to go back to school. Four day school weeks may alter that a little, say on a normal Friday, that the dentist would be full of students, but if there was no school on Friday, then there would be any line to wait in, and no rush to get back to school before school is over. The other upside of having Fridays off is that parents can do errands with out interruptions. If students have Fridays off, they can go to a friend's house so that their parents can run errands without interruption. According to Jami Dow,