As school districts across the state continue to implement four-day school weeks, one Coastal Bend School district is on the verge of doing the same in the next school year.
On Thursday, the Kingsville Independent School District held a town hall meeting where they discussed three school-year calendar options for the 2023-24 school year.
One of those calendar options, offers a four-day school week.
The calendar goes Monday-Thursday with optional enrichment being offered two Fridays a month for students.
The enrichment opportunities allow students to get one-on-one time with teachers, participate in clubs and travel for extracurricular activities and athletics.
H.M King High School science teacher Cory Scarborough said a four-day school week would allow educators like himself to better prepare for the upcoming week, communicate more with parents and collaborate more with co-workers.
He also said the possibility excites him to build stronger relationships with his students.
"Instead of the traditional tutoring, I can do activities. So instead of a science lab for only 40 minutes, I can do a science lab for two or three hours," Scarborough said.
With the school week being cut short a day, students will spend an extra 40 minutes a day at school through the week.
However, KISD Superintendent Cecilia Reynolds-Perez said the extra time is subject to change.
According to district administrators, students will still receive the required amount of learning time required by the State of Texas.
KISD Assistant Superintendent Juan Sandoval told us the extra day off would benefit both students and teachers mentally.
"Sometimes having that extra day off, you can actually unwind and get your mind off the work and be able to recharge the battery for the upcoming week. I think its gonna be a great additive," Sandoval said.
Many parents are split on their opinions of the four-day school week.
Marlina Beltran said she's lucky to have a job with flexibility, which is exactly why she supports the four-day school week for her two kids.
"We can just be home, be lazy or sometimes we get our days where we’re like, let's go to the park or let's do something random," Beltran said. "It's just an extra day of fun for us. I'd rather have my kids at home, so I'd probably take that extra day off so I can spend it with them.
"For other parents, it might be hard because for the older kids, like my 12-year-old, it might be hard to find childcare while their parents are at work," Beltran added.
Kingsville ISD is working with programs like the Kingsville Parks and Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club of Kingsville to provide child day services to help parents have somewhere to take their child, if needed.
However, the programs will not be free.
"We are looking at certain entities and programs such as Communities in Schools that would be willing to sponsor or provide scholarships for students and parents so they're not having to pick up the whole cost of these programs," Sandoval said.
The district encourages parents to vote on a calendar that best serves their child as a student.
"Albert Einstein once said insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. But we'll never know until we try," Scarborough said.
The school board will discuss the three calendar options on Tuesday to make revisions. A final decision on any changes is expected on April 4.
