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Four-day school weeks have become the norm in most Colorado districts, particularly in rural areas that struggle to draw teachers to their remote communities. In recent years, larger districts have also migrated to four-day weeks, hoping to attract and keep teachers at a time when they can’t afford to pay them as much as other districts.

The shift to a four-day week is at the center of an ongoing debate about what kind of school schedule sets students up to excel. That debate has left policy experts, educators and district leaders in different parts of Colorado clashing over what is best for not only kids but also their families and schools.

The Colorado Sun will lead a virtual conversation about why so many Colorado districts have made the move to a four-day week and whether compressing the school week has helped or hurt districts in both staffing their classrooms and improving student achievement.

We’ll explore a variety of questions, including:

• How do districts on a four-day week make sure kids are in class the same number of hours as their peers in schools running on five days?
• Does a four-day week have any impact on how well students learn and on their ability to meet state learning standards?
• Have districts operating four days shown success in recruiting and retaining educators?
• What do families do on the weekday their child is not in school?
• Do the benefits of a four-day schedule outweigh the drawbacks?

Join Erica Breunlin, education writer for The Colorado Sun, on Tuesday, March 31, at 6 p.m. as she interviews a statewide panel featuring district leaders, a policy expert and an educator about how four-day school weeks are reshaping the classroom:

• Van Schoales, senior policy director for the Keystone Policy Center
• Luis Murillo, assistant superintendent of Alamosa School District
• Philip Qualman, superintendent of Eagle County School Direct
• Adam Hartman, superintendent Cañon City Schools

This event, sponsored by the Colorado Education Association, is free and open to the public.

We encourage you to submit your own questions about four-day school weeks for our panelists to answer.

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