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- Over half of surveyed public-school staff reported feeling understaffed entering the school year.
- As of 2020, about 550 school districts nationwide have adopted a four-day schedule.
- The short week could be a short-term fix, but experts have said long-term systemic change is needed.
- This article is part of the "Innovation at Work" series exploring the trends and barriers to workplace transformation.
The nationwide teacher shortage continues to vex education officials, with 53% of public schools surveyed by the Institute of Education Sciences reporting that employees feel understaffed starting the 2022-23 school year.
But districts desperate for classroom talent are trying a new tactic: A four-day workweek.
Flexible-working options aren't new, especially with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But as districts struggle to recruit and retain teachers, the idea of implementing a four-day workweek — where teachers attend school one day a week without students or have the day completely off to plan ahead and catch up on tasks — is gaining traction.
"Right now, the climate across the country with educators is that they are exhausted and they are tired," Gabe Dannenbring, a middle-school-science teacher and popular TikToker, told Insider. "It's so emotionally draining. We wear so many hats."
The switch to a four-day workweek in education has sparked debate as professionals and organizations such as The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association have said that the shortened week could heighten systemic inequities. The organizations have also said that the four-day workweek doesn't address some of the deeper issues behind teachers leaving the field, such as burnout or a lack of respect for the profession.
Some school-district officials who spoke to Insider said offering a perk like a four-day week is helping address the teacher shortage because it's not always possible to offer increased pay.
"Schools want to pay more but don't always have the resources, so they are trying to give something else to reduce stress and provide nonmonetary benefits," Paul Thompson, an associate professor of economics at Oregon State University, told Insider.
His studies include deep dives on how the four-day schedule impacts student success, and he is considering future studies on how this schedule change can help curb educator burnout.
Four-day school weeks can support teachers and help with burnout
While four-day school weeks are not new — they date back several years, with smaller rural districts initially adopting the schedule to cut costs — many districts are looking for ways to keep teachers and attract new applicants. As of 2020, about 550 districts nationwide have adopted a four-day schedule, according to the National Conference of State Legislature.
Dale Herl, the superintendent of the Independence School District in Missouri, told Insider that he has seen an uptick in applications for teaching positions since the Board of Education decided to implement a four-day school week for the 2023-24 school year. His district will become the largest in the state to adopt a four-day week, with more than 14,000 K-12 students enrolled in the district.
Herl said that community reaction has been mostly positive and added that members of his staff are excited to give the schedule a go. And he hopes that giving students Fridays off will give teachers more flexibility on that day to plan lessons, grade papers, and meet with colleagues so they can enjoy weekends without having to make up work. "Teaching is hard," he said. "And so much time is spent outside of your normal contractual time doing grading, responding to emails, and meeting with parents."
Heather Luke Drozlek teaches in a small private school in Indiana, which is on a four-day school week. She told Insider that it is her first year on the modified schedule, that her stress level is low, and that she never takes work home on the weekend.
"I absolutely love it," she said. "It's so freeing."
Chris Fiedler, the superintendent of the 27J school district in Colorado, told Insider that until he has the budget to pay teachers more, the four-day week his district implemented in 2018 is also helping him attract and retain staff.
With more than 22,000 students, Fiedler's fast-growing district just outside of Denver is one of the largest in the US to be on a four-day schedule. He said that the turnover rate has leveled off and that he is able to hire the teachers he needs.
"It's been a recruiting advantage for us," he said. "I don't know where we'd be without it."
Drawbacks to the four-day week
Thompson told Insider the four-day week is a real concern and has possible ramifications for students, namely the education gap that pandemic-induced learning disruptions have exacerbated. There are also potential risks with childcare and food security — public schools can provide students with free lunches as well as supervision before and after school for those with working parents.
"I can see the benefits, but I can also see that it could cause systemic issues," Tell Williams, a preschool teacher and social-media influencer, told Insider.
Laura Funk, who teaches high-school biology in Colorado, said her children go to school in a district that has a four-day school week and her that current district is on a 4-1/2-day schedule. She likes the extra half a day without students to plan and prep, but she isn't sure a four-day week is what the profession needs to repair itself — and to get more people to sign up to be teachers.
"It's a Band-Aid fix," she said. "Our education system is built on a flawed model. If we want to fix it, we need to look at other education systems around the world that are functioning and producing high-achieving students."
Addressing the larger crisis
While The American Federation of Teachers, a union representing 1.7 million people, declined to be interviewed, Randi Weingarten, the organization's CEO, said in a statement to Insider that a shortened workweek is not a "magic pill" to solve the educator shortage.
"The problem has never been about working five days a week. It's what happens during those days and the overwhelming lack of support and respect," Weingarten wrote. "If we don't improve working conditions and compensate educators properly, the length of the workweek will not matter, and kids' ability to recover and thrive will be wounded."
And the National Education Association, which also declined to be interviewed, said in a statement to Insider that while the organization doesn't have an official stance on a four-day week, it published a paper last year stating that a comprehensive strategy — with increased wages, student-loan forgiveness, greater autonomy, and general respect for the profession — is needed.
Dannenbring said that a four-day week could be a short-term fix to issues such as a lack of prep time and an increased rate of teacher burnout while acknowledging that the profession needs long-term systemic change.
"Teachers want to be appreciated — and paid," Dannenbring said.