Broward school leaders are weighing a 4-day school week. What about Palm Beach County?

Katherine Kokal, Palm Beach Post
·5 min read
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While school leaders to the south are weighing expanding a four-day school week schedule to some high schools, Palm Beach County students shouldn't get their hopes up for Fridays off.

The School District of Palm Beach County is not considering a four-day school week or any other measures to cut the number of days students are in school.

"Many families rely on our schools to be open five days a week," Superintendent Mike Burke said. "Our school board approved traditional school calendars in place through June of 2025. Four-day school weeks are not currently under consideration."

The "business as usual" approach differs from that of school leaders in Broward County, who are discussing whether to start a four-day school week with classes offered Monday through Thursday at the county's high schools in hopes of boosting student achievement.

Palm Beach County students typically attend school for between six and seven hours each day. In neighboring Broward County, school leaders are considering converting high schools to four-day school weeks where class days would be more than eight hours long.
Palm Beach County students typically attend school for between six and seven hours each day. In neighboring Broward County, school leaders are considering converting high schools to four-day school weeks where class days would be more than eight hours long.

At least one high school in Broward has successfully operated on a four-day school week calendar for nearly 30 years. Pompano Beach High School students attend classes for 8½ hours each day as opposed to the seven hours and 20 minutes that Palm Beach County high school students are in class.

Nationally, more than 650 school districts in the past 10 years have opted to shorten the school week to four days, according to EdWeek.

Almost all of those districts are outside of Florida, but recent changes have shown budding interest in the idea. Volusia County started four-day school weeks for one of its charter schools this year, and Pasco County will have "mini-breaks" for students in October, February and April created by three shortened school weeks next year.

Many of those districts moved to the modified schedule to cut costs and attract teachers, but the results have been mixed. In 2011, the Education Commission of the States found that districts using shortened weeks trimmed an average of 0.4% to 2.5% from their budgets. Teacher response to the reduction in school days has been mixed: At least one study has found that teachers still leave at similar rates for outside opportunities despite the added benefit of a shorter work week.

While Broward will continue to study the shortened school week, Palm Beach County's school board approved its 2024-25 school year calendar on Dec. 6.

2024-25 school calendar: Mark your calendars! Palm Beach County schools calendar released for 2024-25 school year

Here's what to know:

Is Palm Beach County considering a four-day school week?

No. Palm Beach County schools have not recently discussed cutting a day from the school schedule.

In 2011, the school district opted not to seriously consider cutting Fridays from the schedule, even though school leaders were looking for ways to trim the budget.

At the time, district staff found that putting all schools on a Monday-through-Thursday schedule would save about $6.8 million in expenses for bus driver and aide salaries and fuel and electricity. Making the change for high schools only, like Broward County is now considering, would have saved the district $1.7 million.

Since 2011, Palm Beach County's school district has grown by more than 16,000 students and four new campuses.

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Why is Broward County considering a four-day week?

Cutting costs isn't at the top of the list for Broward County school leaders.

Instead, they point to the success of Pompano Beach High School, which has operated on a four-day schedule since 1997, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The application-only magnet school, similar to Suncoast High in Palm Beach County, has a 100% graduation rate and has been A-rated by the Florida Department of Education since 2011, making it one of the highest-achieving high schools in Broward County.

At Pompano Beach High, students use Fridays to work internships, volunteer, mentor younger students, take SAT preparation courses or meet for extra-curricular clubs and activities, the Sun Sentinel reported.

Does a four-day school week work?

Studies from other states are split on the effects of shortened school weeks with longer days.

In Oklahoma, a study published in 2023 in the journal of Educational Research and Policy Analysis found a 39% drop in bullying and a 31% decline in the number of fights and assaults on campus over nine years after schools switched to a four-day week.

But the study found that new schedules had no effect on discipline related to drugs or alcohol, vandalism, truancy, school bus misbehavior or bringing weapons to school, EdWeek reported.

And the study found no significant difference in SAT scores, attendance rates or truancy for students who attended school for four days instead of five.

In Colorado, a research paper published by Brown University in 2023 found that the Denver-area school district's implementation costs outweighed its cost savings, while student academic achievement fell significantly.

While many administrators expected teachers to love the shorter work week, the study of the Colorado school district found the opposite effect. The rate of teachers staying employed with the district fell by three percentage points in schools with four-day weeks. The rate for veteran teachers with 15 or more years of experience fell by five percentage points, the study found.

Start of school in 2024 in Palm Beach County

School will start at Palm Beach County schools on Monday, Aug. 12.

Starting school on the second week of August is typical for Palm Beach County and complies with a new state law that requires school to start after Aug. 10.

Meanwhile, Broward County is likely to adjust its schedule to start around the same time as Palm Beach County, according to a recommendation from Superintendent Pete Licata, who was a longtime regional superintendent in Palm Beach County before becoming Broward's superintendent last year.

In recent years, Broward schools have usually started classes toward the end of August: The 2023-24 school year began there on Aug. 21.

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End of school in 2025 in Palm Beach County

School will end for Palm Beach County students on Friday, May 30.

Katherine Kokal is a journalist covering education at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at kkokal@pbpost.com. Help support our work, subscribe today!

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Are Palm Beach County schools considering a 4-day school week calendar?