4-day school week? Canton Harbor High School among first schools in Stark County to try it

CANTON – Some Stark County students will have a shorter school week starting this fall.

Canton Harbor High School, a public charter school that focuses on helping students between the ages of 14 and 21 quickly earn the credits they need to graduate high school, will launch its “4 Plus 2” scheduling model for the upcoming school year. Instead of attending classes for nearly seven hours a day five days a week, students will attend four full days of classes and two hours of tutoring on Fridays.

The school, which enrolls roughly 130 high school students at 1731 Grace Ave. NE, is among the first in Stark County to try a shorter school week. Some local school programs that are geared toward students with autism and developmental disabilities already operate on a four-day school week.

Steven Nichols, administrator and principal at Canton Harbor High School, said the change is an effort to give teachers more time to work with their colleagues and strengthen their teaching. He said teachers will keep their five-day work week schedule and will use Friday afternoons for training and lesson planning.

“One of the reasons we took this plunge was to provide teachers the precious time that they are so wanting and needing in order to plan effective and engaging lessons,” said Nichols, who said a consultant first suggested the shortened student schedule. “We are trying to afford ourselves time, more than anything, so we can be more effective in the classroom.”

He said the additional time on Fridays also will give teachers, who have witnessed the same rise in student misbehavior that has been reported nationally, a chance to refresh and avoid burnout.

“Our teachers have the biggest hearts, but that doesn’t make the job less difficult,” he said. “… We’re going to use Fridays for professional development, and I think a lot of teachers view this as a way to recharge.”

What do teachers at Canton Harbor High School think?

English teacher Charlene D'Amico, who is going into her fourth school year at Canton Harbor, is looking forward to having more time to work and learn from the other roughly dozen teachers in the building.

“The initial announcement of the transition was a complete surprise, but everyone was very excited about it,” she said. “I'm really hopeful that it will give us a lot of time to work on things we hadn’t been able to work on before.”

She hopes to develop more hands-on activities that cross academic subjects and will better engage Canton Harbor students. She also believes the time will be beneficial because teachers can discuss how they approach situations where students haven’t responded well in their classrooms.

“When a student has a problem in a class, we will have a better opportunity of talking about what works with that kid and what doesn’t,” she said.

D’Amico said the shorter student week likely won’t affect her lessons plans much because she typically doesn't teach much new information on Fridays, which is the day that students most often don't come to school. She hopes that students will use their free time on Fridays to complete the nonacademic tasks that made them miss classes last school year.

Shorter school weeks part of growing trend

While still rare in Ohio, Canton Harbor joins a growing national movement toward shorter school weeks, one that has been accelerated by the pandemic and teacher shortages.

A research team from Oregon State University found in 2021 that 1,607 schools in more than 660 districts across at least 24 states use a four-day school week. Most of the schools sit in the western and southern regions of the country and are small and rural, according to the research.

In Ohio, the North College Hill City School District, which is located north of Cincinnati, became the first in the state to announce it would go to a four-day school week. Beginning Aug. 15, the district’s roughly 1,400 students will attend school in person Tuesday through Friday. On Mondays, students will have self-directed schoolwork to complete.

The Oregon State research team found that most schools adopted the four-day school week in an effort to save money, attract and retain teachers and reduce student absences.

Their research, along with other studies, show that most schools have not seen large financial savings with four-day school weeks. Results for student academic performance have been mixed.

A study of schools in Oregon, which has among the highest prevalence of four-day school weeks in the country, found that high school students attending only four days a week performed worse in math than their five-day school week peers, but there was no impact on their reading performance.  A similar study in Oklahoma found minimal impact on ACT scores. Another study suggests that student academic performance may depend on whether the students are getting the same number of instructional hours as they did with a five-day school week.

Researchers say more studies are needed to determine whether the four-day school week is effective in recruiting and retaining high-quality teachers and its nonacademic impacts, including whether students are getting enough food without access to school meal programs, whether their social interactions are being affected and whether they are staying out of trouble on their off day.

Canton Harbor students to get the same amount of class time

Nichols said Canton Harbor students will receive nearly the same amount of instruction time, even without attending a full day of classes on Fridays.

He said the school has extended its four full school days by five minutes and reduced time that had been used on noninstructional activities so students will continue to receive roughly 980 hours of instruction time a year. State law requires charter schools to offer 920 hours of learning opportunities a year.

According to state report card data, Canton Harbor meets or exceeds state academic standards for dropout recovery schools. It has an attendance rate of 65.9% and a four-year graduation rate of 39.7%, which is higher than the state average for similar schools.

Nichols said Canton Harbor also is looking to add community-provided activities for students on Fridays, such as field trips or club activities. He said many Canton Harbor High School students can’t attend after-school activities because they must go to work.

Nichols doesn’t expect the shortened student school week to produce any operational savings. Teachers still are working the same number of hours, the building still will be open five days a week and the school doesn't provide transportation.

“The decision was (based on) what’s best for kids and what’s best for teachers,” Nichols said.

He said the school hasn't tried to survey parents and students about the schedule change, but he hasn’t received any negative feedback. He said parents have been more vocal – in opposition and in support – about the school’s new phone-free policy that will begin this fall.

The new policy requires all students to lock their phones inside a Yondr pouch when they arrive at school. The bags, which also are used in concert venues around the country, require a special magnet to open. Students, who will be able to carry the pouch with them throughout the school day, will be able to access the special magnet and unlock the pouch at the end of the school day.

Cellphones banned: More Stark County high schools banning cellphones

“We just think it’s a huge step in creating an environment for learning,” Nichols said. “They are one of the greatest tools but also one of the greatest distractions we’ve had.”

Akron City Schools, which piloted the Yondr pouches last school year, plans to expand its phone-free policy to 13 more school buildings this year after receiving positive reviews from teachers who said they believe students were more productive without access to their phones during the school day.

Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @kweirREP

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Canton Harbor High School to go to 4-day school week