LINCOLN -- The Lincoln School Board is expected to consider moving to a four-day school week during its meeting Monday.
The goal is to help attract and retain teachers, Superintendent Mary Ann Spears said.
"We have teachers that drive in from Lowell and Bentonville and spend an hour on the road each way getting to us," Spears said. "That's part of the piece of this. If we can do something a little bit differently and structure ourselves differently, hopefully we can recruit and retain more teachers."
The School District of 1,065 students hosted two public forums recently to explain why it is proposing the change and to allow parents to ask questions. Spears and school principals attended.
Other possible positive impacts from a four-day week, Spears said, could be an improvement in staff and student attendance, a decline in the dropout rate, an improved district culture and climate, financial savings, increase in enrollment from families wanting a four-day week, and either increasing or at least maintaining student achievement.
The district spends quite a bit of money on substitutes, and Spears said staff members believe the district would save money because teachers would be absent fewer days. Savings also would come from lower utility costs and lower transportation costs.
The district is proposing to have school Tuesday-Friday and add about an hour and 20 minutes to each day, with the extra time placed on both ends of a school day. The district is required to have 1,800 minutes of instruction per week, and these minutes would be spread out over four days instead of five, Spears said.
Spears said teachers at all three schools have indicated they support a four-day week, and staff overwhelmingly preferred Monday as the day off. Schools would use some Mondays as professional development days for teachers and as teacher-parent conference days.
Monday makes the most sense because it's the heaviest day for student and teacher absences, Spears said. In addition, having Mondays off would allow teachers and parents to schedule appointments, provide more family time and possibly provide more job opportunities for high school students.
Fridays are not as good, she said, because of ballgames, special school activities such as pep rallies, and because many doctors and dentists close their offices on Fridays for either part or all of the day.
Spears went over concerns with a four-day week, some of which were expressed by parents at the forums. In particular, younger students would have longer school days. Working parents would have to figure out child care on Mondays, and students from homes in need would have fewer school meals with a four-day week.
Her presentation included possible solutions to the concerns: spread out recess breaks throughout the day for younger students, have additional snacks in the afternoon for all students and increase the backpack program to provide food for the extra day out of school.
A longer school day also means more parents may be able to pick up their children from school or would be at home when their children got off the school bus, Spears said.
Spears said a four-day week would not affect athletics and extracurricular activities, and coaches and others already are discussing ways to help students who might need help getting to practice, a ballgame or other activity. Athletics most likely will practice all five days each week.
Deon Birkes, athletic and transportation director, said he took several of his coaches to visit two districts and ask questions. One of these coaches did not like the idea, but after talking to staff at Atkins and Mayflower, the coach said he felt much better about a four-day week, Birkes said.
Birkes said he already is looking at bus routes to make them more efficient next year and get students home as soon as possible.
In Arkansas, 29 school districts -- including Atkins, Bigelow, Bismarck, Mayflower, Kirby, Trumann, Cutter-Morning Star and Perryville -- use a four-day week and others are looking at the option for next year, Spears said.
In all, she said, more than 1,600 districts in 25 states use a four-day school week.