Do you like three-day weekends? Well, why not have a four-day school week?

   States all around the United States have already moved to four-day school week, so why not make a change here?

   But hey, you don’t have to take my word for it. Just look at what the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) said about four-day school weeks: “Research shows that the maximum possible cost savings for districts on a four-day week is 5.43%, but average savings range from 0.4% to 2.5%”.

   Not only do four-day school weeks save the amount of budget that schools have, but could also help solve teacher shortages. Lately there have been an increase in teacher shortages all around the United States. All 50 states have reported teacher shortages in more than one area for the 2022–2023 school year.

   According to the NCSL, four-day school weeks also improve student attendance and increase teachers’ and students’ morale  which can lead to improvement in academic performance.

   In addition to three-day weekends helping students and teachers, it can also help budget for the whole school year. By reducing the number of school days, schools can save money on energy, food, and transportation costs.

   Of course, we have to consider the dozens of days students will miss throughout the whole school year. What many schools are doing is starting schools earlier and ending the day a little later, releasing kids between 4-5 PM. This will not affect how many days are in summer break, however, and will make attendance for all students more strict.

   Though this may seem surprising, teachers and students are not the only ones who are enjoying three-day weekends.

   According to EdChoice, roughly 60 percent of parents signaled they would support their child’s school moving towards a four-day school week with only 27 percent of parents opposing the idea.

   In conclusion, I think that Stephen Decatur High school should switch to four-day school weeks. It wouldn’t just improve student and teacher morale, but also would help with the budget.

   We would be spending less on necessities such as transportation, food, etc., and more on resources and possibly increase teacher salary.

   Sure, the schedule would be different and many students and teachers would most likely disagree to the changes, but I think it’s definitely worth the three-day weekend.