Every year, more Idaho districts and charters are adopting four-day weeks — but that doesn’t necessarily mean students are spending fewer hours in class. 

In some cases, like at Teton School District — which is switching to a four-day week for the first time this school year — students will spend more hours in class. That’s because district leaders lengthened the school day and added a week to the calendar, according to Megan Bybee, a district administrator.

State data shows that it’s not just Teton — across Idaho, four-day weeks don’t always correlate with less instructional time. 

It’s an important distinction after a legislative session where lawmakers considered tying much-needed funds for schools to a requirement that current five-day districts not drop down to four days. 

Ultimately, the dollars became tied to a much-less stringent requirement: that districts ensure students spend a newly-established minimum of 152 days in school each year. Because the average number of days at four-day districts was 146, it meant adding about a week to the calendar.  That proviso kicks in next school year.

Still, there were concerns: “I just don’t know how our students compete nationally with states where kids go to school for a month more than our kids,” Kurt Liebich, a State Board member, said in June. 

A March analysis by EdNews showed that last school year, the amount of days Idaho students spent in class varied widely — from 140 school days at a half-dozen rural school districts, to 177 days in Lewiston. That’s a difference of more than seven full weeks, or about two months.

But even amid pushback from legislators and state education leaders, districts like Teton are choosing four-day weeks for reasons ranging from attracting teachers to improving student attendance. 

The short weeks are “a perk to keep people here,” Bybee said. In Driggs, where Teton School District is located, higher salaries in nearby Wyoming and increasing housing prices make it difficult to recruit and retain teachers. 

Still, “it’s a huge shift for our community,” she said. The district has been working with community partners to ensure students have options for where to spend their newly-free Fridays.

Concerns about how vulnerable students would spend that fifth weekday drove Jerome school leaders to decide against a four-day week last winter. But it was a contentious decision that led to a teacher walk-out in protest.

This school year, five districts and two charters (one of which is new) have adopted four-day weeks, including Nampa School District — the largest in Idaho to shrink its school week. 

With four-day weeks on the rise and a new school year starting, here’s a statewide look at how much time students will spend in class this year. 

Students at four and five-day districts spend similar amounts of time in class, on average

When comparing four-day districts and charters to their five-day counterparts, the average instructional hours for students in grades 9-11, or the oldest students at the school, were close — within a dozen hours. That’s a difference of less than two school days across the academic year. 

When the data is parsed to show traditional districts and charters with the highest and lowest instructional hours for high school students, similar trends emerge: four and five-day schools are just as likely to appear on each list. 

And large gaps in instructional hours exist even among five-day districts.

For example, high school students will spend 970 hours in class this year at the Coeur d’Alene or Kuna school districts, or as many as 1,194 at Boise School District. That’s a difference of more than 200 hours, or about six school weeks. 

Traditional districts with the most instructional time, grades 9-11

This is a half-and-half list of districts with five-day weeks, and those with four. 

*Pure instructional hours, not counting the 22 hours of staff development that can count toward instructional hour minimums. Read more about instruction minimums here. 

Traditional districts with the least instructional time, grades 9-11

Four districts with five-day weeks make this list. 

*Pure instructional hours, not counting the 22 hours of staff development that can count toward instructional hour minimums. Read more about instruction minimums here. 

Charters with the most instructional time, grades 9-11

At least five of these schools offer remote or hybrid learning.

*Pure instructional hours, not counting the 22 hours of staff development that can count toward instructional hour minimums. Read more about instruction minimums here. 

Charters with the least instructional time, grades 9-11

Six of the charters on this list have five-day weeks. 

*Pure instructional hours, not counting the 22 hours of staff development that can count toward instructional hour minimums. Read more about instruction minimums here. 

Instructional hours at new four-day districts or charters

Idaho Education News data analyst Randy Schrader contributed to this report.