Local school implements 4-day school week

PITTSBURGH — In the spring, Channel 11 told you about a change in Pennsylvania school code that opens the door for school districts to go to four-day school weeks.

School districts in Pennsylvania are required to have 180 days of instruction, or 990 hours, per the new school code.

One local school made the change.

A Thursday is only the third day of school for students at City Charter High School. They are off every Monday because they’re on a four-day school week.

“I like it. I like it a lot because the Monday, it’s like an extra day to do whatever you want to do,” 10th grader Ro’Shell Moye said.

Ro’Shell says she usually catches up on laundry and hangs out with friends on Mondays.

Dara Allen, CEO/Principal of City High, said other students get internship hours, work or use the day for appointments.

The school started testing a four-day school week during the pandemic and adopted it once the students returned to the classroom three years ago. City High is on a year-round schedule, with three months on and one month off.

“Looking at ways to build more breaks into our schedule basically to be more refreshed and also to have more balance 31 in realizing that students needed balance just like staff needed balance,” Allen said.

Allen says it’s helped with teacher retention, too.

“I feel like it’s really stemmed, the burnout aspect of it. So knowing that you have four days, you can really prep on it,” teacher Nathan Budziszewski said.

Teachers like Budziszewski are required to be in the classroom on what City High calls their 4 PLUS Mondays, one Monday a month. It’s also a time for students to voluntarily get extra help from teachers or participate in fun activities like canoeing, video games and basketball.

Allen says her school data shows the biggest challenge with the 4-day school week has been attendance, but notes they do have a 90% attendance rate. The school day isn’t longer for students because they already go more days during the year, so teachers have had to adapt their curriculums to fit it all in.

“We have more efficient curriculum that we teach and better stuff and you really have to pay attention and make it have a better impact and that’s been a value,” Budziszewski said.

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