Republic-Michigamme School holds its own with four-day week

By Kristin Dale, 16, and Andrew LaCombe, 16, with contributions from Aminda Johnson, 11; Connor Remsbug, 11, and Nick Terpening, 11

To most students in kindergarten through 12th grade, Sunday nights mean one thing—a scramble to finish homework because a week of school starts the next morning. But for the past three years, students and teachers in the Republic-Michigamme school district have been able to relax and enjoy their Sunday nights. That's because they don't go to school on Monday; they operate on a four-day school week, but not for comfort and convenience. The shortened week keeps their school open.

Republic-Michigamme was the first district in the Upper Peninsula to operate under a four-day week. This year, Stephenson became the second. With budgets becoming tighter, more schools may follow suit.

The four-day week saves the R-M district $100,000 a year. The plan was implemented under former superintendent Paul Price who previously worked in Colorado where 25 percent of school districts are on a four-day week. Like Colorado districts, R-M covers a wide area—295 square miles. The elimination of a fifth day cuts the amount of money spent on gasoline and maintenance. It also reduces the time worked by support staff.

"Custodians, bus drivers, cooks, work less time here. They took a reduction in their salaries of 20 percent," said Vicki Holsworth, who is in her second year as superintendent and also teaches vocal music. Previously, she was an assistant principal and athletic director in the district.

The district currently has 150 students in kindergarten through 12th grades. Because of low numbers, second and third graders have classes together, as do fourth and fifth graders. That way, fewer teachers need to be hired which cuts costs.

Before cuts were made and the four-day week was implemented, the district was in danger of having to close.

"We were looking at two or three years having to minimally close the high school," Holsworth said. "We had lots of talks about how does that help to close the high school. It's a K-12 building and we'd still have to run buses. We were fearful that it would be the end of the school."

Sixteen-year-old R-M junior Rebecca Shipe did not want her school to close.

"That's been a big issue here because we don't have very many kids," she said. "I love it here. It's really nice here. I like that you know everybody. You don't have as much clique challenges here because you know everybody and you're friends with a lot of people. I like that."

Shipe prefers the four-day school week because it keeps her school open.

"And you have a longer weekend of course," she added. "I love that."

Seventeen-year-old senior Katie Tonge said she uses the extra day off her to advantage.

"(You have) better time for appointments so you don't have to take time out of school for appointments. Basketball, hanging out with friends. Homework is the big issue on Mondays, the day before we go back to school," Tonge said.

When the district was considering whether to change to a four-day week, community members had many questions. The district addressed those questions during community meetings held before the plan was put in place, Holsworth said.

"We really tried to do the research and think about those," she said. "Then we'd come back in a couple weeks with another meeting and give them answers. So we felt like we covered all the bases."

One such concern came from families who needed babysitters.

"A lot of parents were concerned about finding daycare for their kids on that Monday," said kindergarten teacher Mindy Longton. "But they actually found out it was easier because they only had to do daycare one day a week instead of every day after school because by the time we're finished and they get off the bus, the parents are usually home from work."

Many of the older students, including Shipe, baby sit on their extra day off.

Another concern was the effect of longer school days on students. To maintain the number of state mandated in-class hours, each class period was lengthened. Now, class periods are eight minutes longer and school days are 65 minutes longer. Shipe sees this as a benefit.

"You're in (class) longer, so you have more of a chance to get things done. The teachers have more time to take time with you and explain things," she said.

Questions were also raised about younger kids being able to stay focused near the end of the school day. This was answered early in the first year, Holsworth said. She and other teachers discovered that the littler the kids are, the easier they adapt to change. Longton does center activities at the end of the day to keep her students independent and busy.

"A couple weeks into the school year they usually adjust to the long day," she said. "They're getting everything that they need in those four days. I do a lot of the math and reading in the morning, get that done while they're fresh. In the afternoon we do a review with the centers, and review math and reading in the afternoon. That way they kind of catch up on the day that they missed by having it repeated at the end of the day."

Another concern was the amount of homework that the older kids would receive. Teachers now give out less homework during the week, and a little more on weekends.

"It's about the same," Shipe said. "It didn't change much at all."

A perk of the four-day week is longer vacations.

"The week of Thanksgiving we come on that Monday and Tuesday, and then we're off Wednesday through the next Monday, which is nice if you're traveling. We do that for spring break too," Holsworth said.

Holsworth said the R-M teachers, many of whom live outside the district, generally enjoy being able to spend Saturdays and Sundays with their family, and then doing school-related work at home on Monday while their spouses are at work, or their kids are at school.

Longton likes it for an additional reason.

"I play," she said. "I'm an active outdoor person, so I usually have a friend who has days off and we go out and do stuff, too."

To gage community support before the plan was implemented, the school sent a survey to parents, staff members and students in fourth grade and up. The response was that everyone was willing to try the four-day week. After the first year, another survey was sent out, and the response was extremely high to continue with the four-day week, Holsworth said.

The enrollment has been consistent at R-M, which is good news for southwestern Marquette County, because the school building is an integral part of the small community, Holsworth said.

"When I have a concert, the gym is packed and standing room only because we have tremendous community support for band concerts, vocal concerts, plays, and anything that goes on here," she said. "We'll have an open house this fall. Last year we had one and the gym was packed full of people. It's kind of the hub of the community."