Representatives from Lewis-Palmer School District 38 met with the teachers and staff of Palmer Ridge on November 16th to discuss the possibility of implementing a four-day school week in the upcoming years. They have held similar meetings with staff members from other schools in the district. The meeting at PRHS was the last one in the series. Alicia Welch, the HR director of LPSD, and Amber Whetstine, the assistant superintendent, led the meeting.

The proposed 2022 Mill Levy Override aimed to improve teacher compensation as a way of valuing their contributions as staff and educators. However, this override failed in the election by a slim margin.

In hopes to better retain teachers, a 4-day week has been suggested as a primary function. According to a study by Arizona State University in 2019, the nationwide teacher turnover rate stands at 16%, but it is higher in districts where teacher pay is lower. The rate has also increased significantly post-COVID due to changes in student behavior resulting from quarantine.

After surveying the staff, some possible solutions were proposed, such as a longer school year with more frequent breaks, starting the academic calendar on a different date, and considering a four-day school week. The advantages and disadvantages of each option were weighed up in the context of the previous academic year. The survey was first sent out to families and staff in December 2022, after the Mill Levy Override was turned down.

D38 is currently working towards understanding the potential impact of a 4-day workweek on its employees. The preliminary approval for the 24/25-year calendar has already been granted. However, there are no immediate plans to implement a 4-day workweek for the 24/25 year. The decision to implement such a change would be made by the Board of Education, but staff input is being prioritized before engaging with the wider community.

The main focus is to provide support to the staff. Late start days have been eliminated and instead, full workdays have been introduced as an alternative. D38 is also exploring other ways to compensate the staff in addition to considering a 4-day calendar. Employee feedback from the 4-day feedback meetings will help the district frame possible next steps towards the 4-day week.

A task force dedicated to calendar scheduling has explored the limitations of the school calendar. Colorado state law mandates that students must attend a total of 160 days of school, however, there is a waiver that can be filled to limit the total number of school days. It’s important to note that this waiver does not affect the required amount of contact hours that students must complete.

At the high school level, 1080 scheduled hours will still be required, with a minimum of 1056 hours for in-session classes. For elementary students, an additional 20 minutes will be added to the school day, while middle and high school students will have an extra 26 minutes added to their day.

Implementing PLC/work days on Mondays off would decrease the number of workdays before the start of the school day, after winter break, and after school ends in May. This change would offer the staff more consistent work days throughout the year instead of the usual PLC days.

Teaching contracts currently involve 182 paid workdays, with each day consisting of 7.5 hours, resulting in 1,365 working hours per year. If a 4-day school week is implemented, the number of workdays will decrease to 170, while the workday will increase to 8 hours, which will lead to a reduction of 5 working hours for the teaching staff.

As the weekly schedule change would greatly affect the staff’s workweek, they were granted the space to express their thoughts and feelings on the matter. In small groups, PRHS staff members put together posters listing the pros and cons of the proposed changes. One group shared that they discussed how it would save gas by driving up to the school less frequently, and how it would push back rehearsals and sports slightly, but only by 30 minutes. One staff member even noted that their friend in Los Angeles, who worked in a district with a 4-day week, had reported higher morale and work output from students.

During the meeting, several teachers expressed their contentment with the present block schedule. However, they had reservations about how it would be impacted by the proposed scheduling changes. If the transition to a 4-day week were to be implemented, snow days or sick days would mean that a student would only attend a particular class from one block day just once that week.

 The initial calendar draft suggests starting school on August 7th, which some teachers worry could interfere with the current scheduling. To address this, some teachers suggested extending the school year until June instead of starting earlier. At the end of the meeting, an anonymous form was shared with the staff to provide feedback and individual comments.