Beginning this fall, Wahkiakum School District will operate on a four-day school week instead of the standard five-day schedule.
The change comes after a state law went into effect in June increasing the number of smaller school districts that can cut days as long as the number of instructional hours mirrors the state’s 180-day requirement.
State Rep. Joel McEntire, whose district includes Wahkiakum County and part of Cowlitz County, was one of the sponsors of House Bill 2381, which passed in March. The bill allows 30 school districts to qualify for fewer school days, raising the maximum eligible number of students from 500 to 1,000.
Wahkiakum qualified before the new law. The district had 412 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year, and has seen declining enrollment since 2019, according to the state.
Green Mountain School District, with just 169 students enrolled in the 2023-24 school year, also qualifies.
Wahkiakum’s new interim superintendent, Ric Palmer, brings experience with four-day school weeks from his previous role as superintendent of Bickleton School District. Bickleton, in Klickitat County, was one of the first school districts in Washington to transition to a four-day week when the state piloted the reduction program in 2009.
Wahkiakum High School Principal Stephanie Leitz said the change is welcome.
“For us, it was an opportunity to try something new with the hope of providing the best possible education we could to our students,” she sad.
Parents will often take children out of a full day of school for doctors appointments because of travel time. Giving families an open weekday will hopefully reduce the number of absences, Leitz said.
According to an informational presentation from the district, most unexcused absences happen on Fridays.
The longer weekend also gives students more time to rest and spend time with their families. Valeria Kucera, a Cathlamet resident who has one daughter going into 11th grade and one going into fifth grade, said students often have very little time to do fun things on weekends because they spend all of Saturday doing homework and many attend church on Sunday morning, she said.
“That’s where kids learn their most important lessons, is having time at home with family,” she said.
Her oldest daughter, who has already graduated, temporarily experienced a four-day school week when her school in Georgia had to change its schedule due to construction. Kucera did not notice any negative effects on her daughter’s grades, but observed that she seemed much better rested.
The change will also hopefully give teachers more ability to attend professional development opportunities, as the difficulty of finding substitute teachers in a small, rural community makes it hard to attend events during the week, said Nikki Reese, principal of Julius A. Wendt Elementary School and John C. Thomas Middle School.
Under the new schedule, school will run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through ThursdayThe high school will remain open to students on Fridays so they can attend tutoring or use the gym. Sports teams will also continue to practice on Fridays, and teachers will be able to use the time for planning, collaboration or to attend professional development training, Leitz said.
Using last year’s enrollment data, the only school in Cowlitz County that would apply under the new rules to reduce school days is Toutle Lake, which had 673 students that year, though Kalama came close with 1,152 students, according to the state.
