BANDERA COUNTY, Texas — A number of districts across the san Antonio region are going back to school next week and Bandera is one who will return with a new look, a four-day school week.
District officials say the shift has already shown success before the start to the school year.
The first day of school for Bandera ISD is Tuesday and for the month of August everyone will attend school five days out of the week until they ease into the four-day week in September.
“I’ve been preparing for the 4 days for the last four years," Mathematics teacher at Bandera High School Tanya Jimenez said.
Bandera High School’s principal Patrick Sizemore said not one position is vacant in the High School unlike previous years. Sizemore said he credits that to the new four-day model.
“We have to have incentives so we can recruit quality teachers," he said.
Students and teachers will have off every Friday which will allow teachers to have a planning period once a month and a time for additional instruction for students falling behind. It even impacts sports.
"We get kids in class more…we get coaches in class more.”
There’s no more interrupting classes in the middle of the day for games or practice.
For the parents who need child care on that new day off the district has teamed up with the local boys and girls club to assist them.
"They’ll work on schoolwork…it’s extremely affordable for parents…it’s for the whole entire year actually.”
This was part of the plan administration discussed while looking to other districts like La Vernia on how they implemented their four-day school week.
In order to overcome hurdles Sizemore said they plan to challenge teachers and administration with quality solid feedback and instruction that can maximize instruction time.
That means maximizing class time to an hour in the high school and shifting each grade to a new start and stop time.
Elementary students will attend classes from 7:45 am to 4:00 p.m.. Middle school is from 7:55 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. and high school from 8:05 a.m. to 4:20 p.m.