Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day Week

Schools Look to Save Money With Four-Day Week
But longer days are not always a good move. Second of two reports on the effects of high fuel prices on American education. Transcript of radio broadcast:
24 July 2008

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

As we said last week, American schools are looking for ways to save money on bus transportation because of high fuel prices. More children may have to walk, ride their bikes or find other ways to get to school.

But, as another effect of the high prices, they may not have to go to school as often.

Some schools, especially in rural areas, are changing to a four-day week. That means longer days instead of the traditional Monday through Friday schedule.

Beginning in the fall, students in the Maccray school district in Minnesota will be in school Tuesday through Friday. Each school day will be sixty-five minutes longer.

Superintendent Greg Schmidt says the district expects to save about sixty-five thousand dollars a year in transportation costs. The district has about seven hundred students living in an area of nine hundred square kilometers.

State officials have approved the plan for three years. They may change their mind before then if learning suffers.


In Custer, South Dakota, students have been going to school Monday through Thursday since nineteen ninety-five. Superintendent Tim Creal says the change has saved an estimated one million dollars over just the past eight years.
But he sees other benefits, too. Students get more instructional time. And activities that used to interfere with classes are now held on non-school days.

He says that in the future, the growth of online classes could make it possible to require even fewer days in school. High fuel prices are driving college students to take more online classes. And in some states, high school students can take them, too.

A four-day school week sounds like a great idea for students and teachers. But working parents may have to pay for child care for that fifth day. In agricultural areas, though, it can mean an extra day of helping on the family ranch.

In New Mexico, the first school district changed to a four-day week in nineteen seventy-four because of the Arab oil boycott. Now, seventeen out of eighty-nine districts use it.

The Lake Arthur School District has just one hundred sixty students. Lake Arthur used a four-day schedule for twelve years. But a few years ago it went back to five days.

Michael Grossman heads the district. He says two studies there failed to show any real educational improvement using the four-day week. And he says not much instruction was taking place during the last hour of school, because teachers and students were too tired.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Steve Ember.

----------------------------Google Translate

看看学校为了节省金钱，与4天工作周
但较长的天并不总是一个很好的动议。第二次的两份报告的影响，高企的油价对美国的教育。全文电台广播：
2008年7月24日

这是美国之音特别英语教育的报告。

正如我们上周说，美国的学校正在寻找新途径来节省金钱，对巴士运输，因为高燃油价格。更多的儿童可能要走路，坐他们的自行车，或寻找其他方式来获得上学。

但是，正如另一效应的高价格，他们可能没有去上学的次数也会减少。

一些学校，尤其是在农村地区，正在发生变化，以进行为期4天的周。这意味着更长的天，而非传统的周一，通过周五附表。

开始，将在今年秋季，学生在该学区maccray在明尼苏达州将在学校周二，通过周五。每所学校每天将65分钟更长的时间。

警司格雷格施密特说，区预计将节省约6.5万美元，一年在运输费用。区大约有700学生生活在一个面积九〇 〇平方公里。

国家官员已批准该计划为3年。他们可能改变主意之前，那么，学习受到影响。


在卡斯特，南达科他州，学生已经去上学周一，通过周四自1995年。警添creal说，改变，挽救了估计有100万美元以上的只是过去八年。
但他看到其他的好处，太。学生获得更多的教学时间。和活动，用来干预班现正举行的非学校天。

他说，在未来的日子，增长线上班可以使人们有可能需要，甚至更少天在学校。高企的油价正在驾车的大学生采取更多的在线课程。并在一些国家，高中学生可以带他们，太。

为期4天的学校周听起来像一个伟大的想法为学生和教师。但外出工作的父母可能要付出的幼儿为第五天。在农业区，虽然，它可以是指一个额外天的帮助对家庭牧场。

在新墨西哥，第一学区改变了为期4天的周在1974年，由于阿拉伯石油抵制。现在， 17出89区的使用它。

阿瑟湖学区刚刚160的学生。湖亚瑟用了一个为期4天的时间表十二年。但几年前它回去五天。

迈克尔格罗斯曼元首区。他说，两项研究有没有显示任何真正的教育改善，使用4天工作周。他说，没有太多的指示，正在发生期间的最后一个小时的学校，由于教师和学生过于疲惫。

这是该美国之音特别英语教育的报告，写的南希斯坦巴克。我史蒂夫ember 。