Lutie returns to 5-day school week, adds free staff daycare and other perks

With more schools nationally transitioning to four-day school weeks, one local school is going against the grain. 

Lutie School announced recently it was switching from its four-day school week back to a traditional five-day school week beginning Monday when classes resume for the 2023-24 school year. Lutie had operated on a four-day school week since 2019.

“Now we’re going back,” said Kathalee Cole, Lutie superintendent and high school principal. “We went from four-day weeks to block scheduling and now back to five-day weeks,” Cole said.

“We feel like it’s what’s best for the kids,” Cole said. “When we were doing block scheduling we had a lot of students who went for several days in between math classes, and it was hard for them to retain what they had learned.”

“The switch to a five-day school week will undoubtedly provide Lutie students with increased learning opportunities,” Cole said. “The additional day in the classroom will enable teachers to delve deeper into subjects, engage in more hands-on activities and foster critical thinking skills. Students will have more time to grasp complex concepts, leading to improved academic achievement and greater confidence in their studies.”

Cole said that the switch to a five-day school week will provide Lutie students with increased learning opportunities. “The additional school day will provide Lutie R-VI teachers with more opportunities for collaboration and professional development. This will facilitate the sharing of best practices, innovative teaching techniques, and a continuous improvement of the district’s educational programs,” she said.

What the teachers think

While many teachers nationally favor the four-day school week, Cole said she polled the teachers at Lutie before the school made the final decision.

“It was unanimous,” Cole said. “All the teachers liked the idea.”

Cole said another benefit of having a regular five-day school week was that she knew that the kids would all have good hot meals that extra day.

“Unfortunately sometimes some children may go without food or may not be properly fed when they’re not in school, and even with our backpack program we felt like there may have been some students who went hungry,” Cole said. “With the extra day that’s just one more day we can know they all have meals available to them.”

The school is also adding a few new perks for teachers and students alike.

New to Lutie this year is a daycare for teachers and staff.

The daycare will offer childcare services during school hours for any Lutie employee free of charge.

Amanda Wells, the newly-hired daycare director at Lutie, said she is excited to offer this service to the teachers and staff. “I think it’s a wonderful thing for them to have their kids here right where they work,” Wells said. “They can check on them anytime they want to, and if they need anything they’re right here.”

Wells said the daycare so far has only three children enrolled. She said the school was considering opening up the daycare to the community. “Obviously that would be a big step, and there would be several hoops we’d have to jump through to make that happen.”

“We think the daycare is going to be extremely beneficial for teacher and staff retention,” Cole said.

The school is also adding a staff workout room and a sensory walk for students who deal with ADHD and other challenges, Cole said.

“We are looking forward to this school year,” Cole said. “There are a lot of great things happening at Lutie, and we are excited to see our kids.”

Other schools

Gainesville and Bakersfield will continue their four-day school weeks this year. Dora has a five-day school week with several shortened weeks planned into their calendar. Thornfield School remains on the five-day schedule.

Bakersfield Superintendent Amy Padgett has been a proponent of the four-day school week since the school transitioned to the Tuesday through Friday schedule several years ago.

“It is still working well. I hear positive things from parents,” Padgett said.

“With the teacher shortage, it is a critical time in education. The 4-day week schedule is one more tool in our belt to recruit and retain quality teachers.  It also provides opportunities for students for remediation by our teachers on Monday to recover learning loss that has happened over the past few years. Additionally internships, job shadowing, college visits and other apprenticeships and employment programs are all opportunities that our older students may be involved in,” Padgett said.

“It is not lost on me that many students need the structure and meals that school provides on the 5th day,” Padgett said. “To meet this need, we send extra food home in our backpack program. We always have food available if students need it at home, and we are happy to provide that for any child who needs it. Our community is generous and does not want any kid to go without daily needs.”

“As far as structure of the day, our high school students have many opportunities for work-related study on Monday,” Padgett continued. “We also have dual enrollment courses available on Monday, and we do send our kids to vo-tech 5 days per week.”

Padgett said that she believes that in a time where so many challenges face this country, increased family time definitely benefits students. 

“Flexibility is the future of education,” Padgett said. “The choices made available because of necessity during covid are now an expected option for learning. It has also bridged a gap between public, private and homeschooling. Virtual learning can happen anywhere at anytime of day or night. Many jobs now have flexible schedules, and some even work from home, the superintendent said.