Across the United States, an increasing number of high schools have implemented a four-day school week. This schedule has students attending four longer days of class with an additional weekday off.
While Pleasant Valley has no plans to change the current schedule, several school districts across Iowa have already adopted the concept. This raises the question of what school-wide reactions would be if this new model was introduced at Pleasant Valley.
In recent years, the number of Iowa districts using the four-day week have increased. The 2023-2024 school year saw only six districts use the schedule, but by 2025 that number had grown to 18.
Many districts say the change has helped solve practical problems such as tight budgets and nationwide teacher shortages. The Saydel Community School District in Polk County, Iowa, switched to the four-day schedule in 2024. This change gave studentsFridays off while extending the other school days by about 30 minutes. District leaders said the shift may save the district nearly $40,000in transportation and utility costs.
Reactions among students at Pleasant Valley vary. Freshman Sophie Seamer supports the idea. “I would definitely support a switch to a four-day school week,” Seamer said, “Between extracurriculars and a heavy course load, the current five day schedule is very stressful.”
Others, however, do not fully agree with the idea of changing the schedule. Junior Addie Belman said, “I do not think PV should switch to only having school four days a week. I believe that if this schedule were to be implemented, then that would lead students to be incredibly behind academically.”
Some argue that longer school days could make learning more difficult rather than lightening the load.
Belman added, “I don’t think longer school days will make students learn more easily. By the time the normal day is over, students are ready to go home due to physical or mental exhaustion.”
For now, Pleasant Valley continues to operate on the traditional five-day schedule. Still, as more Iowa school districts experiment with shorter weeks, the debate raises additional questions for students and educators about the benefits and challenges of a four-day school week.
