We’ve learned quite a bit over the last year, specifically around teaching and learning during a pandemic. Thanks to the herculean efforts of our educators, families, students and Clear Creek Public Health, we’ve had students in school, in person, five days a week for the majority of the year. So why would we consider a four-day school week as a school district?
So evident this past year is the fact that connections and relationships matter to kids. Further, compliance-driven learning doesn’t work; instead, kids learn best when content and skills are connected to meaningful activities.
Students need voice and choice: They need opportunities to help design their own learning pathways. Some students learn best outside of the classroom walls. And, we live in the beautiful mountains, where nature and adventure meet, creating a whole other classroom waiting to be explored.
If we think about time differently, what learning opportunities might await students? Could this provide time for student internships, apprenticeships, outdoor exploration, passion-driven experiences, enrichments, independent study projects? What about families who want more time together? Kids who want to do Snowdodgers on Fridays? Community partners who might offer clubs or outdoor adventures?
Further, could we create more time for our educators to engage in planning, learning and preparing? Great teaching takes time and well-balanced, well-versed educators.
We are asking educators, families and students: What do you think about moving to a four-day school week? There are questions about the four-day week on the CCSD Winter Survey that has been sent to all families and educators.
We also have a dedicated team of educators who comprise our Four Day Week Task Force; they are working in three groups: researchers, listeners and solution designers. You might be contacted by the listeners to provide feedback. Everyone is invited to share thoughts via the survey or by emailing [email protected].
So what do we know already about the four-day school week? Sixty-two percent of school districts in Colorado, 111 out of 178, are currently using a four-day week model. There are wonderful examples of success, and others that are still aspirational in finding the best model.
If a four-day week is what our community wants, student learning will remain a top priority. Clear Creek will continue to meet the required instructional minutes throughout the school year. We cannot place an undue burden on our families.
Looking through an equity and inclusion lens: any new model must provide access and opportunity to all students. Our educators (and in Clear Creek, all employees are educators as they all impact student learning) must find value in the model.
As a parent, I’ve always wished for a more predictable school schedule and calendar year. I do a terrible job of keeping track of the professional learning days, the holidays, the end of trimester days. As a district and school leader, I’ve sometimes been the one writing the schedules, and I still cannot keep track of the days! One possibility with a four-day school week is more predictability.
Our Board of Education will hear initial findings from the Four Day Task Force in March. Please make your voice part of this information by completing the Winter Survey (link is on all school websites and was emailed to families), sharing your thoughts as part of a focus group, or by emailing [email protected].
Regardless of the schedule that we follow next year in CCSD, it’s bound to be an exciting year as we shift from “pandemic learning” to recovery and redesign. Already we are working on strategies to address what I began this article with: relationships and connections, student voice and choice, moving away from compliance-driven instruction to meaningful, authentic learning experiences, and expanding learning from inside the classroom to outdoors.
As always, I’m humbled to lead in such an amazing community, Clear Creek.
Karen Quanbeck is superintendent of the Clear Creek School District.
