School Schedules

Start times. Snow days. Year-round schooling. Block scheduling. Four-day weeks. Get research and insights into school calendars

Explainer

Year-Round Schooling Explained
Get the facts about year-round schooling, including pros and cons, statistics, and key definitions.
Image of a calendar showing a 4 day workweek.
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School & District Management 4-Day School Weeks and Their Surprising Effect on Teacher Turnover
Four-day school weeks are more popular than ever. But a main district desire in making the switch might not pan out, new research suggests.
Caitlynn Peetz, October 17, 2024
4 min read
A young Black girl with her head down on a stack of books at her desk in a classroom
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Student Well-Being Don’t Just Blame Social Media for Kids’ Poor Mental Health—Blame a Lack of Sleep
Research shows that poor sleep leads to poor mental health—a link that experts say is overshadowed by the frenzy over social media.
Arianna Prothero, September 6, 2024
5 min read
Illustration of people around a very large flip calendar with Mon-Thursday highlighted in red squares. The concept of task planning. People are engaged in planning a calendar schedule.
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School & District Management As Districts Weigh 4-Day Weeks, Research Overlooks Their Most Pressing Questions
A new, searchable dashboard will help district leaders explore research on four-day school weeks.
Evie Blad, June 12, 2024
4 min read
Calendar 4 day week
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School & District Management The Complicated Fight Over Four-Day School Weeks
Missouri lawmakers want to encourage large districts to maintain five-day weeks—even as four-day weeks grow more popular.
Mark Lieberman, May 21, 2024
7 min read
Illustration of test items on a flat surface, including test booklet, test sheets, pencils, eraser and pencil sharpener.
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Student Achievement What the Research Says Want to Boost Students’ Focus During Tests? Check the Time of Day
New study finds distractions spikes when students take reading and math assessments after lunch
Sarah D. Sparks, May 13, 2024
3 min read
Concept of counting down days. Hand is marking out dates on monthly calendar.
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School & District Management It's Not Just Snow Days: How Can Districts Work Extreme Weather Into Their Calendars?
Extreme weather that's becoming more frequent is challenging districts with novel choices about when it's safe to stay open.
Caitlynn Peetz, March 7, 2024
5 min read
High School Tutor Giving Male Student One To One instruction At Desk
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School & District Management Fitting Tutoring Into the School Day Is Hard. How 3 Principals Made It Work
Three principals persist with high-dosage tutoring, using creative strategies to fit it into busy school schedules.
Olina Banerji, January 24, 2024
6 min read
Calendar 4 day week 012024 1479274096
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School & District Management The Popularity of 4-Day School Weeks, in Charts
As more schools adopt the shorter week, some opinions on the modified schedule might be surprising.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 23, 2024
5 min read
Kiara Unger-Fields, 4, of Johnstown, Pa., hangs on as she rides an inflatable tube pulled by her pup Neo, a Rottweiler, at Roxbury Park in Johnstown, Pa., on Jan. 11, 2024. Unger-Fields was accompanied at the park by her father Roshon Fields.
Kiara Unger-Fields, 4, of Johnstown, Pa., hangs on as she rides an inflatable tube pulled by her pup Neo, a Rottweiler, at Roxbury Park in Johnstown, Pa., on Jan. 11, 2024. Despite initial thoughts that remote learning would spell the end of snow days, many schools reverted to them in 2024 during cold, snowy weather.
Thomas Slusser/The Tribune-Democrat via AP
School & District Management In: Cocoa. Out: Chromebooks. E-Learning Didn't Kill Old-Fashioned Snow Days, Educators Say
Remember when virtual learning was going to put paid to snow days? These educators don't, either.
Evie Blad, January 19, 2024
5 min read
Man holding large pencil and marking X's  on an oversized calendar showing a 4 day work week.
Gina Tomko/Education Week and iStock/Getty Images Plus
School & District Management Recruitment Strategy? Teachers React to 4-Day School Weeks
A new survey asks educators how the schedule would affect their likelihood of taking a job.
Caitlynn Peetz, January 18, 2024
5 min read
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School & District Management What the Research Says 10 Education Studies You Should Know From 2023
These studies yielded new insights on social media, ChatGPT, and math, among other topics.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 21, 2023
7 min read
Illustration of large calendar with people scheduling and planning with post it notes, pencil, laptop and magnifying glass
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School & District Management What the Research Says What a Difference a Day Makes: How Schools Can Harness More Learning Time
Schools that are in session the longest provide five more weeks a year of learning time than those at the bottom of the scale.
Sarah D. Sparks, December 12, 2023
2 min read
Crossing guard Pamela Lane waves at a school bus passing her intersection as she crosses students going to Bluford Elementary School on Sept. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia.
Crossing guard Pamela Lane waves at a school bus passing her intersection near Bluford Elementary School on Sept. 5, 2023, in Philadelphia.
Alejandro A. Alvarez/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP
School & District Management What's Stopping Later School Start Times That Support Teen Sleep? Bus Schedules, for One
See practical strategies for districts looking to move start times to accommodate teen sleep schedules.
Elizabeth Heubeck, September 28, 2023
5 min read
Illustration of a woman sitting on the rim on a large magnifying glass which shows a web search page. Floating around the woman are the terms and phrases: High-Dose tutoring, Accelerated Learning, and Learning Loss vs. Recovery.
DigitalVision Vectors
Student Achievement Academic Recovery: Terms to Know
A primer on what educators should know about the most common interventions for academic recovery.
Sarah D. Sparks, September 25, 2023
6 min read