SANGER, Texas — Another North Texas school district has approved moving to a 4-day school week.
Starting in October 2024, students in the Sanger Independent School District will attend classes from Monday through Thursday.
The district's website said the switch is an effort to retain and recruit teachers due to a "statewide teacher shortage, particularly in rural areas." The district covers Sanger, Texas, and also serves portions of Denton, and the unincorporated community of Bolivar.
Since August 2023, the district said 18 teachers and paraprofessionals have left the district for various reasons.
"We are unable to pay our employees the same salaries as the larger districts in our area. This would help give Sanger ISD a competitive edge in hiring employees," the district said.
Sanger ISD will continue to compete in athletic extracurricular activities on Fridays, as required by the UIL. However, pep rallies will be held on Thursdays. Teachers and staff will be scheduled to work at least one Friday per month.
"Sanger ISD employees will have at least three Fridays off each month to spend with family, schedule appointments, rest, and take care of personal business," the district said.
According to the district's website, the decision to switch was not solely based on financial reasons.
"The 4-day instructional week is revenue-neutral. Again, our goal for implementing a 4-day educational workweek is to create an attractive incentive for recruiting and retaining teachers and staff," the district said.
However, the district says the change is part of a 3-year pilot program to determine its success. During that time the district will conduct parent and employee surveys and measure employee retention rates, student attendance rates, student academic success, and the percentage of students participating in extracurricular activities.
The first day of school will be Aug. 7, and the district will shift to a four-day school week on Oct. 9.