Burlington Schools Explore Four-Day Week

Students in Burlington may soon get a four-day week.

The Lovell Chronicle reports that officials from Big Horn County School District No. 1 brought the idea to the public last month in a community forum.

A four-day week is a better fit for the district, according to Superintendent Ben Smith, because of the numerous students who are absent Fridays due to athletics. He says that Burlington has as few as 25 students walking the halls on some Fridays.

If approved, the changes will take effect in the 2020-2021 school year, the year after next.

Smith said the District is currently interested in modeling a four-day schedule off the schedules of Laramie County School District No. 2 and Converse County School District No. 2. The shortened week would result in longer school days for elementary, middle and high schools for the district, with the school day running roughly from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Additionally, the district is considering changing the grading system for the entire district to standards referenced grading, a system that throws out the A-F rubric commonly used and replaces it with a system officials said will give parents and teachers more information about what their students have learned.