Four-Day School Weeks: A Growing Trend in Rural America
Northeast of Des Moines, Iowa, the Collins-Maxwell Community School District, with approximately 400 students, is one of many schools in the state adopting a four-day school week. The district, like many rural K-12 schools, has struggled to find teachers and sees the four-day week as a useful recruiting tool. Additionally, it aims to reduce student absences, which tend to spike on Mondays and Fridays.
The district initially maintained its traditional five-day calendar in August and September but has since shifted to a four-day week, with the middle school and high school closed on Mondays. To meet Iowa’s minimum number of instructional hours, the district will lengthen the other days during four-day weeks. Superintendent Marc Snavely stated that the decision to adopt a four-day week was primarily driven by staff recruitment and retention, as the district seeks to compete with larger nearby districts that offer better pay.
Benefits and Drawbacks
While some districts report fewer discipline problems and improved attendance with a four-day week, education researchers caution that the evidence is more complex. Emily Morton, lead researcher for the Northwest Evaluation Association, notes that the promised benefits have not been consistently shown in the data, and longer school days can potentially harm academic performance. However, parents and students overwhelmingly support the four-day week, with high approval ratings.
According to researchers at Oregon State University, over 2,100 schools in 26 states have adopted four-day weeks. In Iowa, the number of districts on a four-day schedule has grown from six in 2023-24 to more than two dozen in 2025. Dr. Shanon Taylor, an education professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, states that districts typically adopt the model for economic and staffing reasons, not academic ones, and that the burden of accommodating this transition may fall heavily on parents who work five days a week.
State and Local Conflicts
The adoption of four-day school weeks has sparked conflicts between state and local officials. In Oklahoma, for example, the state attempted to restrict the use of virtual learning days, but districts responded by shifting to “virtual Fridays” with minimal live instruction. In response, Oklahoma enacted a law limiting districts to two days of virtual instruction each school year. Similar conflicts have arisen in other states, including Missouri, New Mexico, and Arkansas.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the costs and benefits of four-day school weeks, researchers emphasize the need for further studies to determine their effectiveness. Morton notes that small rural districts may not be equipped to determine whether a four-day week produces benefits without access to national research and data. As the trend continues to grow, it is essential to consider the potential impacts on students, teachers, and communities.
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