UNAPPROVED

Board of Education Four-Day School Week Ad Hoc Committee Meeting (Monday, April 15, 2024)
Generated by Nikkol Sipes on Tuesday, April 16, 2024

1. Four-Day School Week Ad Hoc Committee
A. Call to Order
Mr. Tauriainen called the meeting to order at 1:03 p.m.

B. Roll Call
Members Present: Jason Tauriainen (Chair), Tim Daugharty, Tony Graham, Director of Secondary Education, Nate Crabtree, Director of Human Resources, LaDawn Druce, KPEA President, Susanna Litwiniak, KPESA President (attended virtually), Pete Swanson, KPAA President (attended virtually)

Members Present: Penny Vadla, Kelly Cizek, Zen Kelly (attended virtually)

C. Approval of Agenda
The April 15, 2024 Four-Day Ad Hoc Committee meeting was approved as presented.

D. Approval of Notes 03-11-2024
The March 11, 2024 Four-Day School Week committee meeting notes were approved as printed.

2. New Business
A. Four-Day School Week Model
Mr. Tauriainen opened up the discussion to confirm the four-day school week model the committee will move forward in their recommendations to the board. Ms. Druce spoke to the attachment of the four-day school week model provided by Dr. Erin Pearce at the last committee meeting as well and spoke to the research within the document.

B. Model Calendar
Mr. Graham spoke to the hypothetical calendar that was presented on the agenda. Mr. Tauriainen posed a question regarding the required hours for students in the state of Alaska. Mr. Graham spoke to this and noted state statute. Mr. Tauriainen noted that the amount of required hours would be met with this model. He also noted for consideration the effect it may have on athletic and extra curricular start times. Mr. Graham also spoke to how snow days could possibly be made up easily with this model. Mr. Tauriainen also spoke to make up days. Ms. Druce spoke to the concerns of younger students and the length of day and spoke to the suggestions in Dr. Erin Pearce's presentation to solve this issue. Mr. Tauriainen agreed and proposed younger students having more recess time could be an option. Ms. Cizek was invited to speak and posed a question to the day length that the model calendar is proposing. Mr. Graham spoke to the length of day that is being proposed in this model calendar. Mr. Tauriainen appreciated the model calendar Mr. Graham put together.

C. Purpose of a Four-Day School Week

Mr. Tauriainen noted the next committee meeting will be held construct a pros and cons list for presenting the committee's recommendation to the Board in July. Mr. Tauriainen invited committee members to speak to the purpose of the four-day school week. Ms. Druce noted mental health as one of the pros for staff and students alike. Mr. Crabtree agreed with Ms. Druce and also spoke to utilizing this as a potential recruitment strategy. He added that this could also reduce substitute costs especially on Fridays. It would also allow staff to plan for appointments on a week day. Mr. Tauriainen spoke to a discussion that he had with Mayor Micciche regarding the substitute costs. Mr. Crabtree spoke to the absences recorded in Aesop that required potential substitutes. Mr. Tauriainen spoke to potential pros in cost saving measures. Mr. Crabtree encouraged inviting Director Hayes to speak to potential cost savings in particular with substitutes. Mr. Graham spoke in regards to having a longer school day length could mean having more meaningful instruction time, especially with younger students and the Alaska Reads Act implementation. Mr. Tauriainen agreed. Mr. Crabtree spoke to activities busses and the challenges in coordinating on Fridays with athletics this model could help alleviate scheduling conflicts and again proposed inviting Ms. Hayes to speak to potential cost savings. Mr. Tauriainen reviewed the proposed pros that the committee members have noted. Mr. Tauriainen noted there could be savings with meals for students, as well as noted custodians would be given an extra day to be able to clean the buildings and could lighten the load of their work. He noted that some of the positives and savings will not be known until this model is implemented. Mr. Daugharty spoke to the challenges with a four-day school week model. He noted in particular the challenges with keeping younger children/students engaged with the longer school day length as well as has concerns regarding childcare. Ms. Cizek spoke in regards to a positive aspect of the four-day model as far as staff recruitment and the potential for an improvement in quality of life for staff is worth exploring the option. Ms. Vadla spoke in regards to the attachments on the agenda. Mr. Tauriainen encouraged members to continue to research topics and review already discussed research in preparation for the next meeting..

3. Adjourn

Mr. Tauriainen adjourned the meeting at 1:49 p.m.