Will all Missouri Schools adopt the 4 day week in 2024?

Some of the most important people in Missouri believe they are on a "slippery slope" towards a 4 day school week throughout the entire state. Is this the right path for the Show-Me State to go down?

Get our free mobile app

According to FOX 2 NOW, the top educator in Missouri believes the Show-Me State is on a slippery slope to adopting a statewide 4-day school week. Missouri DESE Commissioner Margie Vandeven said in an interview on Fox 2 Now...

"A law to allow four-day school weeks in Missouri was approved more than a decade ago to help schools save money after the recession, but the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education says it’s now being used as a perk to retain teachers...“I’ve been very vocal about concerns that I have when a school district elects to just shut a school door and shut things down on that fifth day.”"

The article goes on to mention how the state will be releasing data soon that will show the impacts on students that a 4-day school has. Also, they say currently 30% of the school districts in Missouri are at a 4-day week. To read all about the possible growth of the 4-day school week in Missouri, click here!

Will it spread?

One of the most interesting parts of the article is how it mentions that certain schools have gone back to the 5-day week from the 4-day week once they are restaffed and that certain schools are offering free childcare to teachers to incentivize them to stay on or attract new teachers. I think the spread of the 4-day week will continue as long as there are teaching shortages, and until you pay teachers more, or give them big bonuses like free childcare, I can't imagine the teacher shortage ending soon. Being a teacher in 2023 is hard, you can't punish kids, you have to deal with smartphones and social media, and you have to navigate topics like "gender identity", plus the risk of school shootings, it's no wonder why there is a teacher shortage...