School

Could a four day school week be in the future for students in Fort Dodge?

It’s not something that is proposed anytime soon, but it has been a topic of conversation locally and is a system that has been implemented in smaller school systems in Iowa with positive outcomes.

According to sources close to Alpha Media News the discussion being held now is about what a four day school week would look like in Fort Dodge, as the other Iowa schools are in smaller districts.

The same discussions are occurring in larger school systems like Iowa City where according to an article in the Cedar Rapids Gazette that school system started their conversation over the benefits and challenges that could be seen there as well, but the topic has been on hold there since last March.

Iowa City Superintendent Matt Degner told the Gazette that school officials are continuing to study the possibility and plan to have more conversations about the option.

Before anything could be changed in Fort Dodge, Alpha Media News has been told that the public would get a chance to weigh in and be included in the conversation.

It would then need to pass the school board and be approved by the superintendent.

One of the strongest reasons to shift to a four day school week is not to save money, it is to recruit teachers.

Radio Iowa reports that this August, Cardinal Community School District in Eldon became the fourth school in the state to switch to a four day week.

Prior to the move, Superintendent Joel Pedersen spoke on the pros and cons of switching. Now a year later, that school district plans to continue what was started this school year.

WACO, Mormon Trail, and Moulten-Udell are the three other schools that were on a four day school schedule for the 2022-2023 school year