Woodland R-IV shares parent input survey as they consider 4-day school week

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

MARBLE HILL, Mo., (KBSI) – A local school district says they are evaluating ways to best support student learning.

The Woodland R-IV School District recently announced on the schools Facebook page that they are reviewing the potential to transition to a four-day school week. They’ve put out a survey asking for public input and this has left some mixed emotion for parents. 

A Woodland parent and Registered Behavioral Therapist stated concerns for children who receive special needs support services.

“My concern is with the special needs kids. They need the structure. They need to be in school receiving their services the same as they’ve always received them.” 

While other parents’ say they support the decision and think it’s a step in the right direction.

 “I think that not only is it beneficial for the staff from a curriculum standpoint, but also its beneficial for kids and adolescents to be able to only go to school four days per week.” -Parent.

 According to the district switching to a four-day school week could help with the use of school resources.

The district saying “Our goal remains to provide a high-quality education for our students while supporting the long-term sustainability of our schools and respecting the needs of our families and staff. Thank you for your continued support of the Woodland R-IV School District. We value our strong community partnerships and look forward to hearing from you.”

 While a 4-day school week might help with the school’s budget, some parents say it would do the opposite for their budget as they’d have to cover childcare costs for the 5th day.

“First initial thought as a parent of a small child is, you know, what am I going to do for childcare? I either have to take a day off work or pay for daycare out of pocket, which is expensive.” -Parent.

 Another concern parents have voiced is the need for transportation and school lunches.

Families that are already struggling to put food on the table could feel the pressure of a heavier grocery bill, and for special needs parents who heavily rely on transportation to therapies through the school bus, this could create a transportation obstacle.

“I understand that IEPs will be adjusted for hours and purposes to make sure that they still get their hours, but my question is, the kids that receive services at school, some of them are already having a hard time coming to school. I know some of my cape county kids, they have a lot of troubles getting to school, or if they have a bad day, they can’t get to school and one less day isn’t going to help anything.” – Woodland Parent.

Parents have also voiced support of the idea of a 4-day school week, saying it allows more time for family, and could be beneficial for mental health.

“So, I think it’s, definitely, a step in the right direction. Not sure what will come about that parent survey, but I will be paying close attention to it” – Parent. 

The district says the public input survey is intended to help them better understand how a 4-day school week would affect student learning, instructional time, transportation, staffing, extracurricular activities and district finances, and the results of the survey will help determine the end decision.

Parent Survey Link: Parent Survey Four-Day Week