Four-day school week liked by many

Three days running...

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Seemingly loved and accepted by those who have adopted it, the four-day school schedule is coming under school board scrutiny with surveys due from across Carbon County School District 2.

Currently, school schedules vary across the district, and so far, parents seem happy. All of Encampment still operates on a five-day week, while all of Saratoga has adopted the four-day schedule. Hanna Elk Mountain Medicine Bow is split between a four-and-a-half day elementary school week and a four-day high school week.

A year ago, the school district turned the schedule over to the community at local and district meetings to recommend changes. Saratoga and HEM chose the four-day schedule due to secondary level students missing class time by participating in activities such as sports, vocational agriculture, speech and arts, said Saratoga’s principal Larry Uhling.

Now, as is standard with many school board decisions, it is coming under review after a year of implementation.

When asked how parents of elementary students in Saratoga handle caring for their children for the Friday off, principal Larry Uhling said, “It’s no different than if we have a holiday on a Monday or a late start on a Wednesday or an early out on a Friday. We had all those things in our last schedule because there’s a certain amount of time that teachers need to prepare and for staff development and those types of things.”

The new schedule generally standardizes time off and enables the development of additional programs for the students, he said. Uhling spoke of the activities that have been set up for the children through the community and through the school’s staff, including enrichment programs and remedial help for students who need it.

Cindy Loose, a Saratoga parent of a third-grader and a woman who runs her own company, VIP Marketing, from home, spoke highly of the four-day week. “I think it works well for our family. I like the enrichment on Fridays and I’m spending time with Katie, which is another benefit.”

She said her daughter does every enrichment program, including art, storytelling and rocketeering. “She is expanding her literary skills and taking part in science that she wouldn’t normally have on her agenda,” she said. Loose believes that the students are not losing valuable class time, but instead are gaining an element to their learning.

The new schedule relieves stress from students and teachers alike, particularly at the secondary level. High school students are able to travel and be involved with important extracurricular activities without the stress of missing school and making up work, Uhling said.

Teachers who are coaches or are involved in activity leadership are able to spend more time with their classes. “We have a coach for the high school who has only missed two days this year of actual instructional time compared to the year before where he missed 30-some days of instruction,” Uhling said.

Principal Brad Barlow spoke of another benefit to teachers, which is having time for staff development. On Friday, his staff at HEM met in Saratoga to listen to a motivational speaker. The entire staff was invited, from teachers and principals to custodians and cooks.

“The main message was that we’re all teachers,” Barlow said. He said the motivational speech was about being positive with the kids and with coworkers, because everyone at the school is a role model. “It was important stuff,” he said.

Uhling said child care was a major concern when the schedule was implemented across the board in Saratoga, but he thinks most parents have found a way to work with it. Jane Hill, the mother of 11-year-old Marshall and 15-year-old Wyatt, said she enjoys the schedule, but realizes the issue of caring for children for the extra day. “I don’t have to have day care for my kids, so that makes a big difference. For someone who does need day care, it might be different,” she said.

As the surveys are received on Feb. 8, the date extended by Superintendent Bob Gates, both Uhling and Barlow are unsure of what to expect. Both say they have not heard any negative feedback about the schedule. However, both are interested to see what does come back.


Schedule's a juggling act

By Janice Kurbjun
Times staff writer

Some love it and some wish it could change.

With the Carbon County School District 2 school schedule surveys circulating until the end of next week, parents have the opportunity to voice their opinion about the continued use of the five-day schedule in Encampment.

As the only community in District 2 to maintain the traditional five-day week, Encampment is at the mercy of parents who have observed the benefits and detriments of the four-day week implemented in the rest of the school district.

“It was very evident from the community meetings in Encampment (last year) that no one was interested in changing the schedules (to four days),” Encampment principal Mike Ericson said. He has not had anyone come to him yet saying the five-day schedule should be changed.

However, there is a contingent who quietly hopes Encampment might adopt the four-day schedule. Joelle Vacher, mother of Darion Vacher in Encampment, voiced her opinion. “I would like to go to a four-day schedule if it were conceivable,” she said. “I’d like to have my son at home an extra day.”

She enjoys the thought of an extra family day amidst all the homework and class time. Still, she did recognize the need for kids to be in school while their parents are working. “A lot of the parents wouldn’t want (their children) to be home because they can’t be home,” she said.

On the other end of the spectrum is Michele Fisher, an Encampment parent who juggles a preschooler, a kindergartner, a fourth-grader and a full-time job in Rawlins. “I’m against the four-day week because I need day care,” she said. “I don’t have anybody to watch them all day on Friday.”

She mentioned the fear that losing a day of instruction would be detrimental to her fourth-grade son. “He needs a bit more attention, so if he loses the extra day, it’s not going to hurt anybody but him,” she said. She hopes the schedule stays the same, particularly since she has managed to find care for her children within their current time at school.

Speaking about what he expects from the surveys, Ericson said he has been asked by various parents if Encampment will be forced to go to a four-day schedule. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. It would be up to the board of course, but my impression is that it’s not going to,” he said.

Ericson said his staff and the community believes the five-day schedule works better. “If the community’s not in favor of it, it’s not something that would be smart to do,” he said.