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Education advocates concerned about 4-day school week
FOX 26 Political Reporter Greg Groogan spoke with advocates after the Crosby ISD School Board voted in favor of moving to 4-day school weeks next school year.
CROSBY, Texas - In Crosby, the deal is done. The regular school week sliced back in the fall from five days to four days, with each slightly extended by 25 minutes.
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Crosby ISD School Board approves 4-day school week starting next school year
FOX 26 Reporter Randy Wallace has more on the vote by the Crosby ISD School Board.
While many in the district of 6,000-plus students support the move, others expressed concern.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Crosby ISD School Board votes to move to 4-day school weeks
"These plans haven't been in effect long enough to know the outcome of these changes. 40% of your students say that this will negatively affect them," said Tiffany Mueller, a Crosby resident.
While Crosby ISD's Superintendent predicts the shorter week will fill a teacher shortage and attract instructional talent, Dr. Bob Sanborn, leader of the advocacy group "Children at Risk", is forecasting an academic catastrophe in the harshest possible terms.
"The four-day school week is going to be a disaster for parents who have to work. It's a disaster for kids who are not going to be academically successful. The only winner here is the superintendent who may save some money, but I guarantee you when those test scores come rolling in next year, those kids will be in a place where they don't need to be and that superintendent is going to be out of a job," said Sanborn.
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Citing deep learning loss during the pandemic, Sanborn says students need "additional time on task," not less.
"You do a four-day school week. Those kids will never get up to speed," said Sanborn.
Well known Houston-area Special Needs advocate Louis Geigerman echoed Sanborn's alarm, predicting Crosby students with intellectual challenges will suffer widespread regression with a day less per week in their therapeutic classrooms.
"Let’s start thinking less about your bottom-line. Let’s start thinking less about you can't recruit teachers. Pay them more money, train them, Start thinking about the kids, because this is a terrible idea. This will hurt special needs kids terribly. You need to re-do your vote," said Geigerman.
With Mondays CISD school board vote, Crosby becomes the largest of the more than 40 districts across the state adopting a four-day week.