Southeast Iowa school district joins short list of districts with four-day school weeks
ELDON — The Cardinal School District in Eldon will transition to four-day school weeks beginning next school year.
The Cardinal School Board voted unanimously Monday to approve a proposal to switch to a four-day school week, which is set to begin during the 2022-23 school year. One board member was absent for the vote.
With the exception of six Mondays earlier in the school year, under the new calendar, classes will be held Tuesday through Friday with an additional 20-25 minutes added to each school day.
Classes at the elementary school will start at 8 a.m. and end at 3:40 p.m. Classes at the middle and high school will also begin at 8 a.m. and dismiss students at 3:47 p.m.
State law requires Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to provide students with either 180 days or 1,080 hours of instructional learning. Cardinal's new 2022-23 schedule now will consist of 150 school days, but will include a total of 1,095 hours of learning.
With the schedule change, Cardinal School District will join the WACO School District in Wayland, Mormon Trail in Humeston and Moulton-Udell on the short list of Iowa school districts that have made the switch to four-day school weeks in recent years.
The district believes the four-day schedule will bring several benefits, including helping to retain staff; making the district more attractive to potential teachers, students and other future staff; allowing teaching staff more time to prepare for classes and work on professional development; and more providing more instructional time with students.
Other potential benefits include cost savings on fuel and substitute teachers.
To adjust to the new schedule, the district plans to adjust wages for hourly employees to ensure they do not see a reduction in pay.
The district's preschool program already operates on a Tuesday-through-Friday schedule. It is still unclear if the district will provide daycare services on Mondays, but the district will conduct a survey among parents to help determine what childcare options the district may need to make available after the new schedule is in place.
Cardinal Superintendent Joel Pedersen also said the district is working with local partners to open food pantries in all district schools to help with any possible food insecurity issues the new schedule could impose.
Prior to the board's passage of the four-day school week, Pedersen said he did not believe the proposed new schedule would require much of an adjustment from staff, students or the community.
Under the current schedule, students already have two or more Mondays off due to holiday breaks and teacher professional development days.
And according to Pedersen, prior to the board's approval of the new schedule, a survey of district staff issued by the district showed 95% of those surveyed approved of the four-day school week proposal.
"We are committed to continuing to help with concerns about this new scheduler," Pedersen said, adding that district staff and administrators were excited about the innovation and the opportunities that may result in the change to the new schedule.
While commenting on the change and quoting American author Marilyn Ferguson, Pedersen said:
"It's not so much that we're afraid of change or so in love with the old ways, but it's that place in between that we fear. ... It's like being between trapezes. It's Linus when his blanket is in the dryer. There's nothing to hold on to."
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Cardinal School District in Iowa plans move to four-day school week
