Vernon Parish is the latest to adopt a condensed 4-day school week for the 2025-2026 academic year, following the lead of several other parishes. Proponents argue this could help with teacher recruitment and retention, especially in rural areas. However, critics rightly point out that with Louisiana already severely lagging in key educational metrics like high school graduation rates, college readiness, and standardized test scores, cutting instructional time seems misguided at best.
Louisiana's students need more time devoted to learning essential knowledge and skills, not less. While a 4-day week may offer limited benefits, it fails to address the root issues plaguing the state's school system - chronic underfunding, inequitable resource allocation, endemic poverty, and a lack of prioritizing academics in many households and communities. Merely squeezing the same subpar curriculum into fewer days will only worsen the situation.
For Louisiana's nearly 800,000 public school students, most of whom are economically disadvantaged, access to a high-quality, enriching, and full-time education is critical for their future success and upward mobility. Shortchanging them of valuable class time, while neighboring states surge ahead, only serves to widen achievement gaps and further dim the prospects of Louisiana's next generation. The state's young minds deserve far better.
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