ST. LANDRY PARISH — The St. Landry Parish School Board is weighing the possibility of moving to a four-day school week, sparking debate among parents, teachers and community leaders.
The discussion was introduced last week by District 2 board member Tiffany Nolan, who said she has received feedback from board members about adjusting the district’s schedule.
“I would like feedback and opinions on this and I would like to vote on this very soon,” Nolan said at the Tuesday school board meeting.
Under the proposal, the district would shift from a traditional five-day week to four instructional days, adding more time to each school day to meet Louisiana’s state instructional minute requirements.
Supporters say the change could help address teacher burnout and recruitment challenges.
“The main reason for a four-day work week would be to retain school teachers here and attract quality teachers to the parish,” said Willie Singleton Guillory with the St. Landry Federation of Teachers.
But some board members and parents have raised concerns.
District 7 board member Robert Gautreaux said he has spoken with leaders in other districts, including Acadia Parish, about their experiences.
“One thing is that they are seeing that one day off is not benefiting students, and you do get into the issue of childcare,” Gautreaux said. “Yes, the school district is not responsible for childcare, but I also spoke to police chiefs and sheriffs who said some of these kids are at home not being watched. They are alone and they are on the streets.”
Board member Kyle Boss said he has heard from parents worried about childcare costs and the potential loss of tutoring time.
One of those parents is Brooks Lacombe, whose 8-year-old son Wyatt attends Cankton Elementary. Wyatt, who is autistic and requires specialized care, depends on school during the week while his mother works.
“Terrible,” Lacombe said of the proposal. “Parents have to work five, six, seven days a week. If a child only goes to school four days a week, that’s three days you have to manage childcare.”
Lacombe said finding and affording appropriate childcare for Wyatt would be difficult.
“They are not considering people like me where my work schedule revolves around when he is in school,” she said.
Others support the idea.
Aaliyah Robinson, a math teacher at Northwest High School and a mother of two, said a four-day week could provide families and teachers with much-needed flexibility.
“By the time we get to Friday, I’m burned out, they’re burned out, their dad is burned out. None of us want to do anything,” Robinson said.
She added the extra day could also give teachers more time for lesson planning and grading.
“This would also give more time to prepare, grade papers, put grades in, do what we need to do with lesson plans,” she said.
Gautreaux has suggested conducting a public survey to gather broader community input. Superintendent Milton Batiste said the board plans to meet to discuss how that survey would be presented.
As of now, the proposal remains in the discussion phase, and no vote has been scheduled.
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