Four-day school week

Math teacher Andrew Skinner greets students a week before classes resume at Martensdale-St.Marys in August 2025. Like many Iowa school districts that follow a four-day school week, Martensdale-St.Marys is small (with only about 500 students) and rural.

Lucius Pham

Iowa Public Radio

Iowa News

Pass or fail? Midwest families and districts are learning from the 4-day school week

Nicole Grundmeier

With more school districts adopting a four-day school week, educators and parents are grappling with a question that isn’t easy to answer: What trade-offs come with a shortened school week, and are those trade-offs worth it? It depends who you ask.

Four-day school weeks are increasing across Iowa

Charity Nebbe, Samantha McIntosh, Neve Kelley

More school districts in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska are making the switch to a four-day school week. Typically, students are not in class on Fridays or Mondays. The image shows an elementary classroom with desks in sets of two. The classroom is empty. The windows are open. A large oak teacher's desk is at the front of the classroom.

martinedoucet/Getty Images

E+

Is the 4-day school week working? We want to hear from teachers, parents and community members

Nicole Grundmeier