4-Day School Week Pilot Program

4-Day Instructional Week Pilot Program starts in 2023-24

COCISD is piloting a 4-day school-week program!

After conducting extensive research, stakeholder surveys, and a town hall meeting, the COCISD Board of Trustees voted to approve a 4-Day Instructional Week pilot program for the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 school years. The purpose of the program is to recruit and retain staff, improve student and staff attendance, and give students the best opportunity to achieve academically.

Data will be reviewed yearly to measure the program's success.

Questions? Email info@cocisd.org. 

Factors taken into consideration

Teacher Recruitment – Surveys have shown that a Monday-Thursday work calendar is the most desirable for job seekers.

Academic achievement – School districts that have adopted a Monday-Thursday calendar have had exceptional academic improvement, keeping dedicated instructional focus for all four days.

Surveys – The district staff and leadership surveys were essentially split down the middle, so we looked back at the original surveys which reflected that a majority of staff and parents preferred a Monday through Thursday calendar.

Comments from Staff:

• • In favor of Fridays off:
    • “I believe it is better for student instruction.”
    • “College schedules for dual-credit are Mon-Thurs.”
    • “Fridays off keep more athletes in the classroom. If we have Mondays off a lot of students will lose another day on the classroom.”
    • “Fridays off in my opinion is better FOR KIDS:
      • -No issues with transportation for various groups to athletic events on Fridays. (This year we had a football coach drive the band to Palestine for a football game.)
      • -As a coach, it makes it easier to get kids to practice/games.
      • -The main argument I hear from students and teachers is "Mondays are the worst!" If that's the case then Tuesday will replace Monday as the "worst" day.”
    • “This will be more beneficial to our district for multiple reasons. Parents who work 4/10 shifts will be off on Fridays and not need to find care for their children on days off. It will be much easier on extracurricular sponsors and coaches to get students to show up on Fridays for a game vs Mondays for a practice. More often, if a business is closed at all during the week, it is on Mondays, defeating the purpose of us being off on a Monday to get things done. Fridays off will minimize the amount of instructional time missed by students involved in extracurricular activities. More events take place on Fridays than Mondays, and now that we will be going to school later in the day, that will be an added 45 minutes of missed instruction when they leave early. I have spoken with employees of other districts that are on 4-day weeks, and they all told me that they preferred the Fridays off that they are on.

• • In favor of Mondays off:
    • “After polling most high school students the majority want/need Monday so they actually have a day to "catch up" and not be faced with still having activities on their "day off".
    • “Coaches and other staff have to be at events on Friday, so if we take Fridays off they still have a five-day work week.”
    • “Many Dr/Dental Offices are only half days on Fridays.”

Comments from Parents:

• • “Me and several other parents work 4 day/10 hr week and we work Mondays-Thursdays.”
  • “My kids say that Fridays are a blow-off anyway, so it would seem that Fridays off won’t take away from their education.”
  • “If I want to take my kids on a long weekend trip, if we left on Fridays they wouldn’t be counted absent.”
  • “I teach in Corrigan-Camden ISD. We had some of the same concerns from community members when we went to implement the 4-day instructional week two years ago. However, everyone adapted and have grown to appreciate the new schedule. Our district received an A rating and has benefitted greatly from the 4-day week. My kids attend COCISD and I am all for it!”