What a four-day school week looks like two years later in Patagonia

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY, Ariz. (KGUN) — Two years after switching to a four-day school week, one Southern Arizona district is seeing what many families and educators were hoping for: real results.

In Patagonia, the change was driven in part by struggles to keep teachers around.

At first, some parents were unsure what a shorter school week would mean for their kids.

“At first I was a little apprehensive. How’s that going to work? Are they going to come home really exhausted?”

Talene Lewton, who has three children in the district, said the extra day off has made family life easier to manage as well as doctor appointments. “Being able to put those on a Friday where we can go knock out a whole bunch of errands in Tucson at one time has been beneficial,” Lewton says. Patagonia is a little over an hour drive south of Tucson.

Athena Kehoe

Teachers say they are feeling the difference, too. With almost 20 years of teaching experience, Nate Porter said he was nearing a breaking point before the switch.

“To be honest, I was looking at my retirement package or when I could retire before we went to a four-day,” Porter says.

He now calls the extra day off a major improvement to his work-life balance.

“Just so nice to have that time to decompress and get ready for the next week and it not just be like you get done Friday afternoon and you're back in on Monday. So for me personally, and I think for my fellow co-workers, it's career changing, life changing," Porter explains.

There are signs the schedule is helping in the classroom. The district reports math Benchmark scores have risen 7% since the switch, and attendance has increased by 3.61%.

Before making the change, Superintendent Kenny Hayes said the district asked parents what Fridays might look like without school. Community groups stepped in to offer activities and supervision for students.

Athena Kehoe

Hayes said attendance was another concern the district hoped to address.

“The absenteeism was an issue we were trying to fix. Friday’s we were half days before it anyways and we had a large absent problem on Friday’s, so getting rid of that day seemed like a good solve to that problem,” Hayes explains.

Hayes said school does not start earlier under the new schedule, but days are longer, with classes running from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

“We didn't cut anybody's hours. We did our best to keep everybody's contracts the same as it was during a five day work week. They just had to work longer days,” Hayes explains.

This is part of a three year pilot program. “This next year will be our third year, so we'll send out a bunch of surveys and information to the parents to see if they want to continue with the four-day work week or if they want to go back to the five,” Hayes explains.

The governing board and the Arizona Department of Education will also weigh in when that time comes.

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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.