This school year Buffalo Island Central decided to switch to a four-day school week, as opposed to the traditional five-day week. Having a four day school week means that students have Friday off, leaving them with a day to themselves. Since students get the privilege of having a three-day weekend for each week of school, the school day has been extended to 4:20 p.m. instead of the usual dismissal time of 3:05 p.m. Classes have been extended to fifty two minutes allotted for each class period, and there is an RTI period that is thirty four minutes long.

RTI stands for “response to intervention”. This means that teachers can pull students out for that RTI period and give the students extra help. Students who do not get pulled out for extra help will have a class they go to where they participate in an enrichment activity. The students have quite a few interesting options to choose from, such as baking bread, origami, and playing math bingo. This has the potential to drastically change the educational success of students in the district, which is a significant benefit of the new class schedules.

Many students have said that they like going to school four days a week. When interviewed, student Chandler Helton stated,“I like going to school for four days a week. It gives me a day to relax and take everything in that happened during the week at school. It also gives me extra free time, therefore it allows me to have extra hours at my job.”

Sophomore  Gavin Holt said that he enjoys getting an extra day off from school, and the extended school day is a perfect trade-off.“With all of  my spare time, I like to ride my bike around town, and I also like to sit in my room and just relax,” said Holt.

While the shorter week is popular overall, there are some students who  dislike having a four day school week. For instance, student Brooke Wattigney stated,“I enjoy having three day weekends, but having a four day school week is very tiring and draining. If you do sports or extracurricular activities you are most likely here on Fridays anyway.”

While it will take some time to adjust to much longer days, the hope is that the innovative four-day week will make for a better overall school experience that allows students to have a better work-life balance. Time will tell if the schedule will stay popular, and what impact it can have on the quality of education offered at Buffalo Island Central, but for the time being, most students are cherishing their time spent away from campus.