Hot Springs four-day school hailed so far as a success

Danielle Switalski

Hot Springs high school tried something new this school year and switched their five-day school week to a four-day school week and no one seems to have a negative thing to say about the new schedule.

Hot Springs started looking into the four-day school week two years ago for financial reasons. Although the savings have been fairly minimal, it has opened up more time for students to complete their homework and athletes miss less school by not having to miss class for the common Friday sporting events which require a fair amount of travel for Hot Springs students.

“I don’t notice it at all. I usually have a game (on Friday) so I get to sleep in before the game which is nice,” said senior and volleyball and basketball player Devon White.

Hot Springs Superintendent Larry Markuson said when he did research at other schools that have switched to the four-day week, such as Alberton and Victor, many saw less absenteeism from kids and staff members and a higher grade point average. In the first quarter, 75 percent of Hot Springs students were at or above a 3.0 GPA. Markuson said this percentage is bound to fluctuate, but it is a good sign to the success of the new school week. Senior Kate Carr said she had the highest GPA the first quarter of the school year than she has ever had.

The new school day goes from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and although the adjustment to starting a half an hour early was hard for some students, they have adjusted and want to keep the four-day school week going in following years.

“I haven’t heard of anyone who doesn’t like it. Last year everyone’s concerns were waking up way earlier, but now you don’t really notice because it’s only a half hour difference. I definitely hope they keep it going,” said sophomore Stephanie Ek.

Markuson has been enjoying the free day on Friday because it is a chance for him to catch up on things he doesn’t have time to do while school is session. Another positive in the school week switch is that the custodian has time to fix little things in the school on Fridays, which normally would be tackled during the summer. Now the summer can be used to take on bigger projects at the school.

In order to keep kids focused throughout the longer school day and subsequently longer class periods, Hot Springs began an afternoon snack program to keep students’ energy up. At 2 p.m. every afternoon everyone, including teachers, grades K-12, get a snack. Last Thursday, the snack was fresh fruit, cheese and water. Markuson said they began the snack program after getting advice from the other schools who changed to the four-day school week as a way to keep them going in the afternoon.

A lot of students are also enjoying their three-day weekend as it frees up time for them to pick up an extra shift at work.

Markuson said he has not heard any complaints from parents or teachers at this point in the year. They will decide after graduation in May whether or not to make the four-day school week permanent.