Colorado holds many impressive records. Some of these range from the largest mineral hot spring, the largest flat top mesa, and a record number of school districts that are on reduced calendars. 

Colorado had around 128 school districts on 4-day school week schedules out of 178 total school districts in 2023. According to the Department of Education, this is around 72% of all school districts in Colorado. This makes Colorado the state with the highest school district rate that has switched to 4-day school weeks.

This is a huge number of schools, but we need to go back 40 years to see how this happened.

Back in 1985, Colorado passed a legislature where the requirement for school districts was 1080 hours instead of 180 days and also got rid of the requirement for an application to have alternative schedules, which made school districts more flexible on their schedules.

Then in 1988, schools were required to apply for school schedules of less than 160 days. This opened the gates for schools to get smaller schedules, with 37 schools becoming approved for 160 school days or less.

Since then, more and more schools have been applying for and adopting alternative schedules of 160 or fewer school days. However, these schools are mostly rural schools out of 147 rural schools, 119 have reduced schedules.

With this many schools adopting a reduced schedule, one must wonder if a 4-day school week is beneficial and if their school district should adopt it.

According to sources from an article by The Colorado Sun, a study by the Department of Education in 2011 found that students who attend schools with 4-day school weekdays and 5-day weekdays had similar academic results. 

“The results indicate that both groups of districts perform similarly on the state assessments and that their students show very similar amounts of academic growth as reflected by the Colorado Growth Model,” the Department of Education said. 

However, Paul Thomson from Oregon State University conducted a study in Oregon (another state with 4-day school weeks) that found  “detrimental impacts on student achievement” between 2007-2015 in schools that switched from 5-day to 4-day school week schedules. 

“Earlier school start times and lost instructional time of nearly three and a half hours a week appear to be the primary mechanisms underlying these achievement losses,” stated Thomson. The study also highlighted that lower-income students were more likely to be impacted.

Another study done in Colorado by Cal Poly State University found that between 1998-2009, “estimates indicate that switching all students in a county from a five-day week to a four-day week increases juvenile arrests for property crimes, particularly larceny, by about 73%.”

Even though having a 4-day school week could harm students, some districts may need it to stay afloat. 

Schools in lower-income areas earn less government funding because lower-income people pay less taxes that could go to their local school district. This makes lower-income school districts have a more difficult time paying teachers and providing services for students at their schools.

So, would it be beneficial to switch to 4 days for Grandview?

Absolutely not, and students should not expect Cherry Creek School District to switch to a 4-day schedule. The district is in a high-income area with a median house salary of $103,868 which is about 20% higher than the rest of Colorado according to Census Reporter. CCSD also happens to be one of the highest-paying school districts according to indeed.com. It doesn’t make sense for Grandview to have a 4-day school week, so stick to a 5-day school week.