If Palo Verde Magnet High School junior Analeah Witt had a free Friday, she would ease into the day.
Maybe she would get up a bit later and drive 20 minutes to school where she is open-enrolled because of the STEM and engineering magnet programs. On that free Friday, Witt could get help with any lingering homework and head home to hang out with friends and listen to music, she says.
That scenario is a real possibility for Palo Verde students because the east side school could be the first traditional public school in the Tucson area with a four-day school week if the Tucson Unified School District Governing Board approves the formal proposal it heard Tuesday night.
The proposed three-year pilot program would begin next school year if the board votes to approve it later this month. The district is “working out the financials,” Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo said Tuesday.
Palo Verde Principal Eric Brock brought the idea to his staff last fall and many attended the meeting last night where nearly three dozen staff, students and parents sat in the audience at Tuesday’s board meeting decked out in the Titans’ royal blue and gold.
“This proposal is a way to attract students,” Brock said. “When I went to Palo Verde, my freshman class was 800.”
Among TUSD’s 10 largest high schools, Palo Verde has seen the most growth — at 11% — over the last four years, according to the Arizona Department of Education data. It has just over 700 students.
The growth is a bright spot in the district, which has lost around 13,000 students in the last 11 years and now has about 35,000 in 88 schools, the education department data says.
Palo Verde’s proposed model is innovative and needed to boost interest, Trujillo said Tuesday night.
Analeah’s mom, Dawn Flores, agrees.
“I just feel like TUSD wants different results. They need enrollment,” Flores said. “You can’t keep doing the same thing. So I feel like they should give it a shot. Because doing the same thing and hoping for a better result doesn’t work.”
The four-day school week proposal includes a longer school day with seven, 60-minute classes from 8:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. Fridays would be free for students and abbreviated for staff, which would rotate to support students. The fifth day of the week is one for credit recovery, academic help, internships and family flexibility, staff told the board.
“It’s exciting. I think that the world is at a point where things are being done differently and we as a society need to keep up with that,” Palo Verde counselor Marissa Owens told Arizona Luminaria. “As a counselor, the mental health of your staff and your students and your community, you have to kind of match that somehow and I think this would help with that. It’s an all-around positive. You get a break, a mental health break and you’re able to juggle things a lot better, which I think is really nice.”
Flores wants that for her daughter and other students.
“If she could condense Monday through Thursday, it would work. It’s not that she doesn’t want to do it longer. She’s already doing it longer,” Flores said. “She’s just doing it at home. Sometimes it’s until midnight or 1 a.m. So if she could just have a longer school day and then have that Friday to decompress.”
Supporters say the four-day week would reduce costs, help with teacher recruitment and absenteeism.
Opponents point to fatigue and childcare challenges for families.
“We are at school until 4 in the afternoon and from my experience students do not want to be there any longer,” TUSD student Samuel said at the board meeting. “By fifth period, I can feel my eyes getting heavy.”
A four-day week is used in some Phoenix-area schools and in rural districts in Duncan, Bowie and Patagonia Public Schools, the proposal says. Palo Verde staff cited Patagonia’s 3.6% improved attendance as it completes the second year of its three-year pilot program.
“We keep doing the same thing over and over again, why not try something new,” board member Jennifer Eckstrom said Tuesday. She then asked if a student wanted to attend school on Fridays would it be an option?
“Yes, ma’am, we’re open!” said Brock as cheers erupted in the board room.
Board President Dr. Ravi Shah recalled his four-day school week as a high school student in the Chicago suburbs in the 90s. “I’ve seen this in action and saw it as a really positive experience,” he said.
The board asked questions about bus schedules, breakfast and lunch for students, absenteeism and explored why Fridays were proposed instead of a mid-week break. Brock discussed logistics: Breakfast and lunch would be available for every student, staff professional development was dedicated on Wednesdays and students who wanted to come in on Fridays would let staff know via an online platform and needed to find their own transportation.
Adjusting to a potential new schedule would be welcome for her senior year, said Analeah, who wants to attend the University of Arizona and become a pharmacist.
“I don’t think I’d want to go to any other school. I’ve had a really good time,” she said. “And I think even though I’m still shy, I think it’s given me a lot of opportunities like this one to break out of my shyness.
“Maybe I can finally have a weekend again.”
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