Persuasive Essay

To the Superintendent, Board of Education:

There is a problem at hand that requires immediate attention. As you all may know, many schools around the country, including ours, are certainly feeling the effects of the ailing economy. School districts are raising taxes. Teachers are being laid off. Sports teams are being dismantled in some schools and other schools are even being shut down. However, there is nothing to worry about; there are solutions to prevent these issues from occurring. One of these solutions is a four-day school week with an extra-hour added on which I think sounds a whole lot better than a five-day school week.

There is a whole list of benefits that go with this type of schooling. For example, there is a Research Brief, concerning the Four Day School Week, put out by the Principal’s Partnership Foundation (www.principalspartnership.com), sponsored by The Union Pacific Foundation, that addresses the specific issues of the four-day school week.

Some of the positive findings of this paper include a decline in student drop-out rates, a decrease in student disciplinary referrals, an improvement in student and teacher attendance; students and teachers benefit from less interrupted class time as a result of longer class periods, and fewer transitions at all grade levels occur, which increases the efficiency of instruction. Students and teachers share more positive attitudes about school, which can lead to improvement in school morale because of the extra day added on to the weekend. School faculty would have more time for quality staff development on the day that there would’ve been school. There would also be more time for student participation in extracurricular activities and for personal business, such as doctor appointments on that extra day added on. Lastly, students report they are better able to manage part-time employment. Some benefits for the school, in general, are significant savings on utility bills, substitute teacher pay, school buses, and building wear and tear. Missed school days due to inclement weather can also be made up on what would have been the fifth school day instead of at the end of the school year. Now doesn’t this already sound a lot better?

With benefits comes disadvantages. For example, A Report from the Middlesex County Public Schools 4-day School Week Exploration Committee (http://www.mcps.k12.va.us/4-Day_School_Week.pdf) states the disadvantages of having a four-day school week. Some of these disadvantages include Child Care issues. This is because parents would now have to find someone or some place to babysit their children while they’re at work (I don’t really think this is a big problem at all though because the school could have some sort of daycare program for students whose parents work). There would also be retention issues for special education students (This could also be easily solved by an alternative schedule for these students). There might also be issues with attention among students who aren’t used to such a long day. Students who receive free or reduced lunch would have to go an extra day without a hot meal but these students could all receive food stamps for the days that there is no school. There would also be a discrepancy in scheduling sports games against opponents who still have five-day school weeks which can easily be sorted out as well.

By now, you may all have a better idea on whether or not you agree with a four-day school week. You have all heard the pros and cons of this type of schooling. In my opinion, having five days of school sometimes feels like forever but having four days of school sounds even better with an extra hour added in. It may not sound so good at first but soon everyone will get used to the four-day schedule. Don’t you think this sounds so much better than a five day school week?! I certainly do.

Jonathan Shalot