BELLE PLAINE, Iowa (KCRG) - The school week for students in Belle Plaine could look a little different in the fall. The district is considering moving to a four-day week.
The Belle Plaine Community School District has been looking at the possibility of moving to a four-day school week for about a year and a half now.
The superintendent said parent/ teacher surveys showed positive feedback on making the change.
Charolette Grieder has three children who graduated from the Belle Plaine Community School District. The fourth is now a high school junior.
”I have one that’s in dance. So a three-day weekend would be nice, being gone,” Grieder said.
She’s part of the school improvement advisory committee (SIAC) that gave community feedback into Belle Plaine’s plans to hold classes four days a week rather than five. She says she’s on board with the district changing the schedule.
“Anytime you don’t have to put those kids in a classroom and keep them cooped up, I think the better,” Grieder said.
The district has talked to others like the Highland and WACO districts that are already on a 4-day schedule. They told Belle Plaine some of the positives and negatives of this schedule.
The districts said changes they had to prepare for were the need for daycare to make up for young children not being at school. Belle Plaine says it’s something it’s taking into consideration.
“We would definitely look at having a daycare here initially if we had enough interest,” said Chad Straight, Belle Plaine Community School District superintendent. “We don’t currently have a daycare here but if we had that one day off we would probably look to support our parents with that if the board decided to move to a four-day week.”
A recent survey at Highland found a majority of students said their mental health, family life, and outlook on school have all improved. The full results of the survey can be viewed below:
Highland 4-Day Survey Results, Feb 2025 by zach.owenskcrg on Scribd
”It gives the opportunity for staff and students on that fifth day to also seek some other educational experiences. There’s traveling to colleges or just family time and experiences with your family,” Straight said.
Superintendent Straight said moving to a four-day school week would also help fight the teacher shortage many schools across the country are currently seeing.
The Belle Plaine school board is expected to vote in March on the four-day-a-week plan.
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