WSD not moving to 4-day week

SILVERTON –– The Wallace School District will not be exploring a transition to a four-day school week for the 2024/25 school year, despite neighboring Kellogg School District’s decision to adopt the shortened week. 

WSD Superintendent Todd Howard told the News-Press on Wednesday that his district is going to take a wait-and-see approach before they make any dramatic alterations to how they’ve been doing things. 

Kellogg’s school board unanimously voted in favor of the change during their May board meeting, which was met with mostly positive responses from the community. However, the change has not come without its detractors. 

Kellogg joined Post Falls and Bonners Ferry as the northernmost school districts operating under such a format. 

In the wake of that decision, Howard has been doing research to see how the decision to go to a four-day week has affected the neighboring districts following the decision to change. 

“I have had multiple conversations with the school districts in Kootenai County to gather enrollment data/information based on Post Falls’ decision to move to a four-day week,” Howard said. “Lakeland, Post Falls, and Coeur d’Alene all reported minimal differences in enrollment/open enrollment during that first year of the Post Falls schedule. Our situation could be completely different and only time will tell what impact it will have. If the KSD’s change causes specific issues in the WSD then it may require that we look at the option of following along with their decisions.” 

When Kellogg announced their intentions to make the change, they cited reasons like staff retention, improving the mental health of the students and staff, and using the reduced schedule to attract new teachers where they may not be able to be as competitive in pay.  

Howard isn’t sure that his district, roughly half the size of Kellogg, is at the same boiling point as his neighbors are – but he doesn’t want to jump to an early conclusion that may not be necessary.

“The primary reason that we have not and are currently not discussing the change is because we have not identified an issue that could be solved or bettered by making the switch,” He said. “I have listened to other districts talk about moving to a four-day to improve their finances, improve staff morale, or attract potential applicants. From that list of reasons, we do struggle with attracting potential employees for both classified and certificated positions. With the specific characteristics of the WSD, I don’t know that attracting potential employees would be solved by switching to a four-day week.”

The pros and cons of the reduced week have been widely debated, with some people thrilled by the notion of extra family time, additional flexibility, and one less day of having to get the kids up early and out the door. The counter to these pros has been the need for childcare for working parents, nutrition, and children potentially having several extra days where they aren’t supervised. 

While all of these concerns are valid, many parents have come out publicly and stated that they don’t believe it is the schools’ responsibility to raise their children and they will adapt one way or another. 

Howard isn’t deaf to these concerns and isn’t going to rush into anything that may potentially cause more harm than good for his small district. 

“The scheduling and our planning for a four or five-day week might be good for one student and not ideal for another,” Howard said. “Some families could take advantage of a Friday off for appointments. Athletics scheduled on Fridays and Saturdays could help with student absence numbers. Some families want to have those five-day schedules for the additional day of academics, routine meals, and peer interaction.”

According to Howard, the Wallace School District will be paying close attention to Kellogg and if they decide to make any changes, then they’ll be made in January or February to give the district ample time to create and execute any changes they may decide on. 

The Mullan School District, just six miles east of Wallace, has also told the News-Press that they would not be moving to a four-day school week.