The Ignacio School District is joining several other districts in the area that will have a four-day school week next year.
Board of Education members approved the change to the 2022-23 calendar at their Thursday meeting.
“Overall, I thought staff did a great job presenting what that would look like,” board President Allen McCaw said. The district conducted multiple meetings with community members and parents to elicit input about the concept.
The Bayfield and Dolores school districts are moving to a four-day week next year, and the practice is already in place in the Mancos, Cortez and Dove Creek districts. In Colorado, 114 of 178 school districts, or 64%, use the four-day calendar, according to the Colorado Department of Education.
Ignacio schools want to try the four-day week to focus on teacher retention, teacher development and improving attendance, Superintendent Chris deKay said on Friday.
“If we can improve the attendance factor in the district, it will maximize the quality time that kids are spending in the classroom,” he said.
The district focused on how teachers can best do their jobs in educating students, he said. The district plans to move its sports and activities to mostly Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and will also ask parents to schedule medical appointments and family weekends during that time so students can focus on school Monday through Thursday.
Surveys of the idea found that 85% of district staff members were in favor of the four-day week, and 75% of community members. The district is planning to start school a week earlier, on Aug. 22, but finish around the same time of year, on May 25, according to a draft calendar.
The district still plans to have buses transport students on Fridays for education and enrichment activities, as well as serving them breakfast and lunch. The district also is partnering with Ignacio Community Library, SunUte Community Center, Southern Colorado Community Action Agency and Dancing Spirit Arts Center to offer educational options for students on Friday.
“I was hesitant when I first heard the idea,” said Yvonne Chapman, the board’s vice president. “I think it is a worthy endeavor.”
In other business on Thursday, the district is moving forward formulating its strategic plan, deKay told members of the board.
“I feel like we have a great group moving forward,” he said.
There are several subcommittees studying the different aspects of the plan, with large group meetings held periodically to bring all ideas to the table. The next large group meeting is scheduled for March 28, both in-person and on Zoom.
The board is considering the sale of its old elementary school building in downtown Ignacio, which now is operated as a community center and office space, known as Ignacio ELHI.
