JEROME, Idaho — The Jerome School District is reconsidering a switch to a four-day school week after losing more than 80 teachers in two years, with community input sessions planned before an April board decision.
Aubrey Merrick, who has three children in Jerome schools, supports the change based on her own experience when her school made the transition during her seventh grade year.
HEAR WHAT THE DISTRICT AND PARENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT 4-DAY WEEKS
"It was better for the kids, attendance was better. The kids were more attentive while they were at school. The grades were better," Merrick recalled of the experience.
She's been talking to a lot of people who have made the switch and reached out to one of her former teachers to see how it went.
"She said the first year that they switched, they were able to learn three extra chapters in chemistry because the kids were better focused in school," Merrick said.
In January 2024, the Jerome School Board voted against adopting a four-day week. More than 90 teachers protested by using paid time off on the same day, forcing school cancellations.
Superintendent Brent Johnson, hired in April 2024, inherited the aftermath of that contentious decision.
"There was a lot of emotion and certainly still to this day, some questions and some hurt feelings surrounding that decision and the way that it happened the first time," Johnson said.
Johnson said community members have expressed interest in revisiting the discussion.
"I've heard from all of those groups that they wanted to continue that conversation as something that could be very beneficial for all of the Jerome schools and community," added Johnson.
Currently, 76 of Idaho's 115 school districts plus 18 charter schools operate on four-day weeks. Jerome is surrounded by school districts that have already made the switch, including Gooding, Wendell, Buhl, and Shoshone.
However, shorter school weeks raise questions about childcare and supervision for the extra day students are out of class.
The district is hosting impact study discussions to gather community input, with a final decision expected at the April board meeting.
"We are gathering all sorts of information. What do people think or what do they want? Trying to listen to everyone in our community," Johnson said.
On January 27, the board adopted the 2026-27 calendar based on the current five-day schedule. The calendar incorporated some teacher requests, including reducing contracted days, adding early release days for work time, and scheduling no classes on additional Fridays for professional development.
Merrick questions whether these concessions will adequately address teacher retention and recruitment challenges.
"Over the last two years, since they decided not to vote for it, we've lost 80-81 teachers. Teachers that have worked in Jerome for 20+ years, and they're leaving, and they're going to school districts with a four-day week," Merrick said.
Community members can share their thoughts at a public meeting on February 9 at Frontier Elementary.
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