Ohio schools, like many nationwide, are dealing with a teacher shortage.
The Ohio Department of Education reported earlier this year that attrition rates are up slightly statewide. In Northeast Ohio, in 2021 — the second year of the pandemic — 10% of teachers in urban districts and 7% of teachers in suburban districts did not return to their jobs. There are many reasons for this: post-pandemic burnout, student behavior and pressure to show growth in academic achievement.
Two schools in Ohio are using a four-day instructional week this year: Harbor High School in Canton and North College Hill City School District in suburban Cincinnati.
Canton’s Harbor High School is a charter school for at-risk youth between the ages of 14 and 21. The school uses a traditional school day model on Monday through Thursday. Classes are in session for just two hours on Friday.
Principal Steven Nichols said the decision to shorten the Friday school day was to address the lack of collaboration and planning time teachers had due to required paperwork and other tasks.
“Having them have a dedicated time to get to get all that done is going to make a huge difference in how we approach planning for the classroom lessons and how we form our relationships with our students,” he said.
Superintendent Eugene Blalock Jr. of the North College Hill City School District said his district has Mondays as a dedicated staff day with regular instruction on Tuesday through Friday. He said the decision to use a four-day week was to address the burnout teachers experienced coming off the pandemic.
“We were constantly asking them to just, go, go go, because we didn’t have substitutes. What we saw in the classroom was they were struggling to meet the needs of their students and that was because of their own mental and physical health,” Blalock said.
Before making the move to a shorter instructional week, Blalock said the district listened to the community, teachers and parents to address barriers such as meal distribution and child care issues.
The two schools join more than 1,600 schools nationwide that have made similar moves in the last ten years.
Studies have shown mixed results on the four-day week regarding student learning and school budgets, but the administrators for both Ohio schools say it was the right move.
“This plan works for us at this time,” said Blalock.
First up on the "Sound of Ideas" this hour, last week, the Ohio Ballot Board met to approve language that voters will see on their ballots in November when they decide the abortion rights amendment. But the approved language immediately stirred up controversy as the word "fetus" in the amendment proposal was changed to "unborn child" in the ballot language.
We will discuss the ballot language, which is now being challenged in court.
GUESTS:
- Karen Kasler, Bureau Chief, Statehouse News Bureau
- Steven Nichols, Principal/Administrator, Canton Harbor High School
- Eugene Blalock Jr., Superintendent, North College Hill City School District
