New Four-Day School Week Begins its Spread into Pennsylvania

By: Cara Furchner

In Pittsburgh, many schools have just recently adapted their schedules into four-day school weeks, a change made possible by a Pennsylvania law passed late last year . 

Nearly 26 states in the US so far, including Pennsylvania, have passed this law. Most of these schools have set this law into motion by beginning to remove either Mondays or Fridays from their school weeks. 

As glorious as it sounds, schools aren't just allowed to eliminate a full 6-8 hours of school a week. Originally, schools across the United States were required to fulfill 180 school days a week and 990 hours a year. Now, The Four-Day School Week law allows districts to choose between 180 school days, or 990 hours (900 for elementary) of school a year for students above an elementary academic level. This allows school weeks to be shortened by running school days slightly longer than before. 

To meet this 990 hours a year requirement, most school districts applying this law in Pennsylvania and other states have removed Fridays and extended Monday-Thursday school days by about 50 minutes each day. 

If that logic was applied to Garnet Valley, high school and middle schools could either start an hour earlier and finish at the same time, or simply extend classes till around 3:35 pm for four days a week. 

Not many areas in Pennsylvania are too eager to launch this law into action because they are unsure of how it could affect students' learning. Areas in the Midwest and West, where the Four-Day School Week law was passed first, have been much more willing to test out this law and use it in their own school districts. 

Schools out West have adapted to this four-day school week well by allowing students extra help on their extra day off. Teachers have still been available on their “5th day” of school, allowing students an extra day to themselves that they can still use for academic purposes if necessary. 

Not only has the Four-Day School Week law changed students' lives when it has been put into action, but it has also been shown to save schools and states money on transportation, food, and energy. This is obviously a positive outcome of the law that has convinced areas such as Pittsburgh to test out the new school week. 

As the Four-Day School Week law continues to be put into place by new school districts in states where the law has already passed, it will be interesting to see if the law passes into the other 24 states of the US. 

With both pros and cons, it will be interesting to see how the Four-Day School Week law continues to affect Pennsylvania school districts and possibly one day into our very own Garnet Valley.