North Star switching to 4-day school week

The four-day school week that has been popping up in small districts across the state will be moving to the Hi-Line this fall, in North Star Public Schools in Rudyard and Gildford.

The North Star Public School Board of Trustees approved the calendar change at its meeting last month, on a three-year trial basis.

"We see a lot of what I would call 'non-productive days, ' when a large percentage of our schools are gone for an away ball game, " North Star Superintendent Ken Halverson said. "We're making a real concerted effort to not have that happen this year. "

Most weeks, Friday will be the day off.

Now the students who play in games, mostly scheduled for Fridays, will miss no school and their classmates won't waste a day because the teachers don't want to leave the athletes behind.

The extra day off is also convenient for students and their parents, allowing them a day to schedule activities that would otherwise interfere with school, like helping out at home or going to town for a doctor or dentist visit.

Halverson said the four-day week can be shifted, like on a week with a holiday on Monday having class from Tuesday to Friday.

The fewer days will be made up with longer individual days.

A day in North Star schools currently begins at 8:30 a. m. and ends at 3:30 p. m., except for Fridays, which have ended an hour early for the past several years.

The new schedule will begin at 8:05 a. m. and end at 3:45 p. m., Monday through Thursday, in general.

"We're excited about, " Halverson said. "I think our kids are excited about it. "