4 or 5?

Well it has taken the School Board 1 1/2 years of evaluation and study, several meetings, two surveys, and numerous side discussions in town, not to mention I am sure sleepless nights but the vote is now in.

There has been numerous discussions on the idea of the 4-day week. Everyone has had their chance to be heard and sometimes that meant listening to the same person say the same thing at each meeting. But they always got their chance.

Most of the schools that have already gone to it are small, rural schools and the majority of them are in Wyoming, Colorado, Montana, and Idaho. The longest that we could find was one that is in Wyoming which has been using the 4-day system for 26 years. The school in Wyoming uses that 5th day to encourage kids to get involved in community activities and further studies.

Many schools have said that the transition was a hard one but after having taken the plunge they have thoroughly enjoyed the new system.

There is so much that can be achieved through the new system if the community will allow itself to open its minds to new thoughts and new ideas and the possibility that change can be positive.

There are so many options. One school currently takes their kids to a nearby college twice a month to use the local pool for swimming lessons. If you use your imagination you can go all sorts of places.

Currently in Montana there are 19 schools using this system. We will make number 20.

The 2009-2010 school year will be a 4-day school week. The 5th day will have an "enrichment program" that will allow the kids to have a one-on-one with teachers for extra help and some extra programs.

The final schedule, times and such are yet to be determined. That apparently will be on the agenda for the next School Board meeting.