N-31 Schools 

A growing number of school districts are switching to four-day school weeks in efforts to cut costs and recruit and retain teachers.

Shortened schedules have been more popular in  rural districts, where families often have a stay-at-home parent or nearby grandparent. But they also have been adopted recently in a handful of larger school systems.According to a study by MO State Univ., the 95,000 students in 4 day districts represent around 11% of Mo’s K-12 students, up over 8% from last year, and a STL Univ. Study found that 69% of surveyed parents and 91% of teachers favored the 4 day schedule. Some experts have questioned the effects on students who already missed out on significant learning during the pandemic. For parents, there also is the added complication, and cost, of arranging child care for that extra weekday.

While surveys show parents approve overall, support wanes among those with younger children. Steve Potter, KTRS News