At Vinton Elementary School in Lafayette, Indiana, the transition to four longer school days with Fridays off was pretty rough at first, Principal Cindy Preston recalled.
The change was implemented in 2024 under an Indiana three-year pilot program, after the school had already committed to a new curriculum designed around traditional five-day weeks.
With several national holidays on Mondays throughout the year, some weeks ran Tuesday through Friday. The 400 students in the K-4 school settled easily into the new routine, but the first two months were challenging for lesson planning and classroom management tasks.
By the second quarter of 2024, the staff “hit their stride,” Preston said. After that, staff absences plummeted, student disciplinary incidents decreased, and the passing rate on the third-grade reading test—required to advance to fourth grade—shot up from 73 percent to 89 percent….
Interest in a 4-Day School Week Is Growing in Many States
