Rescheduled Education

A five day series on four-day schools

In the 2015-16 school year, 26,881 students attended school only four days a week in Idaho. They accounted for 9 percent of Idaho’s student population. The four-day school calendar has been an unproven experiment — no one can say with certainty whether the schedule helps or hinders student achievement. Most concede the schedule does not save money. Opinions are rampant. Hard statistics are scarce. And the state’s political leaders have done little to find answers.

Data dive: Surprising statistics on four-day schools

Some four-day school statistics confirm conventional wisdom. Others contradict political rhetoric.

An unproven experiment, involving 26,881 Idaho students

Opinions about Idaho's four-day schools are rampant. Hard statistics are scarce.

Sage and COSSA Academy: Two four-day outliers

The two schools are shaped by their four-day calendar — but are defined, starkly, by differing demographics.

Four-day school test scores are inconclusive — but troubling

It’s difficult to draw firm conclusions from Idaho's test results. Sample sizes are small. Long-term trends are elusive.

Preston upholds a decision driven by dollars

Five years after adopting a four-day calendar, daunting fiscal realities continue to confront Preston schools.

A schedule change saves money. Just not much.

And for some four-day districts, even the modest savings came at an unacceptable cost to employees.

‘No time to waste:’ Notus runs at a fast pace

The Notus School District is a success story — but, perhaps, a success story that just happens to be unfolding on a four-day campus.

Teachers and students adjust to longer school days

The four-day schedule has transformed how teachers teach, who teaches in rural Idaho — and how students learn.

Across rural Idaho, four-day weeks become routine

In Idaho's four-day districts, many parents, students and staff covet the flexibility of free Fridays. This helps explain how the schedule has become engrained in small-town Idaho.