4-Day Instructional Week

BCSD 4-Day Week Survey Results Retention & Recruitement Case Study

Frequently Asked Questions

If the 4-day school week is to help attract or retain teachers, why can you not just pay teachers more?

While the district would love to pay higher salaries, our funding is based on two factors: 

1. Enrollment
   • Our enrollment has stayed fairly stable but has not increased
2. State aid
   • State Aid has averaged 2% over the past five years. This is not enough to keep up with the cost of inflation or raise salaries to a level competitive with larger schools, especially those in the Des Moines Metro area. 
   • Salaries and benefits make up 80% of our budget. We pay salaries and benefits within our budget. By going to a 4-day week, this would effectively pay higher salaries (per diem) due to having fewer contract days with no pay cut.

What would the school day look like?

The tentative school start time of 7:45 a.m. or 7:50 a.m. with an end time of 3:35 p.m. or 3:40 p.m. Our current start time is 8:00 a.m. with a dismissal time of 3:10 p.m. This new structure would add 15 to 20 minutes at the beginning of each day and 25 to 30 minutes at the end, for a total of 40 additional minutes per day.

What would the calendar look like?

Iowa Code requires to have 1080 contact hours with students in their calendars. We currently have 172 student contact days with a one-hour late start every Monday, giving us a total of 1100 student contact hours. A 4-day model would have 145 student contact days with 1104 student contact hours and no late start on Mondays. The school start date and end date would remain relatively similar. Iowa Code states that we cannot begin school before August 23rd, and we would continue with an end date right around the Memorial Day holiday.

Would a scheduled day off be used for snow/weather makeup days?

There would be a very strong likelihood that a small number of the scheduled days off would be used for snow make-up days in the event they are needed.

Which day is likely to be omitted?

While nothing is official from a schedule or calendar standpoint, there is a very high likelihood that Mondays would be omitted. The reasoning behind utilizing Mondays as the day off is due to some holidays falling on Mondays, as well as prior years’ professional development days. There are also fewer activity conflicts. To meet state hour requirements, there may be 2-3 times in the calendar where the omitted day is used as a school day.

Will lengthening the day mean my kids are getting home later if they are in extra-curricular activities?

Extra-curricular competitions are generally scheduled at the conference level. Therefore, no adjustments would be made. Coaches/sponsors may adjust practices just as they do now to accommodate other activities, etc. Additionally, in the current environment, many students playing recreational sports and/or school-sponsored activities understand their practices may run into the evening hours. 

If parents oppose the 4-day school week in certain buildings, is implementation in other buildings an option?

District-wide systems in place would prevent us from implementing the 4-day school week specific to certain buildings.

How does a 4-day school week vs a 5-day affect student behavior? 

Data shows other districts have experienced fewer adverse student behavior instances, as well as significantly fewer student absences.

When will teachers perform their Professional Development (i.e., in-service days)?

Professional Development would be completed by teachers on the off days. That schedule would be developed at a later time, but would not interrupt any student contact hours. 

What if other schools also move to a four-day week?

The four-day school week is gaining popularity statewide, and we will certainly see a handful or more districts move to that model for the 2025-26 school year. While we understand that may level the playing field from a hiring standpoint with neighboring districts if they also make the change, we also know that we lose a fair amount of teachers to large districts in the Des Moines Metro area that are not exploring the four-day option due to their size. If neighboring districts move to a four-day week and Baxter does not, it could provide those districts with a hiring advantage.

What can be done from a childcare perspective?

The district is beginning the process of discussing options with local providers. While the district is not licensed to provide daycare, we will work in partnership with daycare providers to offer any help and assistance within the district’s ability.

Would there still be activities and practices on the off day? Would transportation be provided for those?

Practice times are determined by coaches and sponsors, and it would be very likely that they could/would occur on the off day. The activities department would work to ensure the practice schedule stayed as consistent and accommodating as possible for student-athletes. While an effort to schedule as few competitions on the off day will be made, it is still a possibility there will be some competitions on that day. The district will also work to provide transportation on a sport-by-sport and seasonal basis to student-athletes or participants who need it.