Parents and teachers react to four-day school week proposal at Franklin County Public Schools

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. (WDBJ) - We are getting reaction from parents and teachers after Franklin County Public Schools announced it is considering changing to a four-day school week.

The district said it’s considering this for three reasons; to save money, alleviate staffing shortages and prioritize mental health.

It comes as school leaders say they’re expecting a decrease in state funding.

The proposal is in its early stages, but Wednesday, WDBJ7 spoke with parents, teachers and elected officials about what they think about the idea.

“It affects students and it affects families, but on a day-to-day basis, this is where the rubber is going to hit the road,” said Shannon Brooks.

Brooks teaches English and journalism at Franklin County High School. She said her day often goes past the final school bell and a four-day teaching week could help with her work-life balance.

“It allows us to do a lot more of the things during the school day, so to speak, that right now are getting sort of shunted to after-hours, when it’s oftentimes a lot harder to fit those things in. Specifically, I’m thinking in terms like planning, grading, parent phone calls,” Brooks said.

However, while a four-day school week may be appealing to teachers, she wonders how this change could impact students.

“There are definite concerns about how this would impact student achievement. And the short answer is that we simply don’t know. It seems like the benefits to student achievement are pretty minimal,” she added.

Parents like Jessica Diaz echo Brooks concerns about the potential impact on students’ education.

As a social worker, she’s also concerned about the students who may use school as an escape from poverty, food insecurity or abusive households.

“For the children that are having issues at home, school might be their only place that they have positive interactions with others and can be safe,” Diaz said.

Parent Jeff Worley is the school board chairman for Franklin County Public Schools. He said childcare is going to be a major issue.

“Franklin County is a big county. We have children that are on the bus 45 minutes to an hour one way, anyway. To have that extended further into the day is an absolute concern, and I get that. You know, not everybody has access to childcare. It’s hard to find. Not everybody has access to family members that can automatically help them when they need it,” he closed.

Right now, there seem to be more questions than answers about how this could work for everyone.

School leaders want folks to know nothing is set in stone and this change won’t happen without getting community feedback; they are strongly encouraging people to share their concerns.

The school board will meet with administrators April 13, when they will review the proposal and feedback.

School leaders are unsure what it would end up looking like, but as of now, the new school week would begin on Tuesday and add about an hour to the end of each school day.