MIDDLETON, Idaho — When school gets back underway in August, students in Middleton will have a new, non-traditional schedule.
The Middleton School District Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Monday to begin the new school year on a four-day school week calendar.
According to the district, Monday's decision came after a recent survey of staff and parents showed overwhelming support for the non-traditional school schedule.
The survey of nearly 2,000 parents and staff found that 72% prefer a four-day school week. 83% said they prefer Friday as the non-school day, instead of Monday. And 76% of respondents said they prefer longer school days to account for lost time, instead of more school days. Complete survey results can be found here.
The results surprised both superintendent Sherawn Reberry and school board chair Kirk Adams.
"I wasn’t quite sure what it would turn out so, the 75-25 split really did amaze me I guess," Reberry said. "I thought it would be closer together."
Monday's vote did not include decisions on whether Friday or Monday would be the non-school day. The length of school day and the final school calendar will also be decided at future school board meetings after the district gathers input and feedback from parents and staff.
Middleton will join dozens of Idaho school districts and charter schools that already operate on a four-day-a-week schedule.
"There are many positive reasons to make this conversion," Reberry said in a statement, adding that the decision needed to happen now so the district could plan accordingly.
"Certainly, our response to the COVID-19 pandemic shows how the Middleton School District can make these adjustments," Reberry said.
Two new area charter schools are attracting students from Middleton, according to Reberry, including one that operates on a four-day schedule.
"We have lost families to the charter schools the last couple of years," she said."The families that have left that we’ve been able to talk to indicated that it was the four-day week that was the draw for them."
By eliminating one school day each week, the district will save money - about 2% of the budget - by reducing transportation and food services.
An added benefit of the abbreviated schedule, Beck said, is that it will make it easier to recruit and retain staff, even in hard-to-fill positions.
"Adults overwhelmingly when you ask them, do you want a four day work week vs a five day work week, you get that feedback," School board chair Kirk Adams said. "If we can increase the quality of our teachers and staff then I would see that as a direct result down to our students."
While noting that staff members are excited about the new schedule, Adams said he's still concerned about at-risk students having one more day without the structure that school provides.
The district has a backpack program already in place. This provides food to the students who need it over the weekend when they aren't in school.
Reberry told KTVB the district could look at modifying that to count for an extra day away. Adams added the district could look for community partners to help feed kids who are in need.
Overall though, the district said they made the change because they thought it was the best move for kids.
"We didn’t take this lightly," Adams said. "We had some good debate and we’ve done our research and we will continue to do our research through the summer so I think the Middleton students will fare very very well in this."