Sonmetines, I wish I was a school kid...
School district's 4-day week approved
There will be no more blue Mondays in the MACCRAY schools in an effort to try to save money.
By NORMAN DRAPER, Star Tribune
Last update: July 4, 2008 - 8:08 AM
It's official: Monday is now a no-school day in the MACCRAY schools.
The Minnesota Department of Education earlier this week approved the rural west-central district's plan to save money by compressing the school week into four days come fall.
The three-day weekends could pose a time-juggling challenge for some parents and teachers in the district, which links the communities of Maynard, Clara City and Raymond, but for many students it's great news.
"I'm pretty excited," said 16-year-old Carly Haas, who will be a junior next year. "You get a day off from school and homework and everything else."
MACCRAY will be the first district in Minnesota to join rural districts in 17 other states to adopt the alternative schedule that promises to save $85,000 in energy and transportation costs.
No other school districts in the state have applied to the Department of Education for permission to move to a shorter week.
Still, MACCRAY superintendent Greg Schmidt said that, since the school board approved the plan in May, he has heard from plenty of schools in Minnesota and elsewhere wanting to know more.
"We've had a lot of interest from all kinds of people," Schmidt said. "The Albuquerque, New Mexico, district contacted us, and someone from the Jackson, Ohio, district contacted us. I think they're just wanting to know what process we used and why we made the decision to do it."
Most of the interest has come from smaller Minnesota districts, mostly in the southwestern part of the state, Schmidt said.
Schools In the Twin Cities area haven't indicated much of a desire to make the switch. The Osseo district considered a four-day week in 2001, then backed away in the face of public opposition. Several districts experimented with four-day weeks back during the energy crisis days of the late '70s to save on utilities costs.
Longer days, less down time
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