In Ketchikan they're examining the four day school week

While the discussion regarding the recently defeated prospect of a two week school break in Prince Rupert plays out on the editorial page of the Weekly newspaper, north of Prince Rupert the bigger picture of a four day school week is getting some review.

The Ketchikan School Board recently started the process of examining the benefits and drawbacks of shifting to a four day school week for the Middle and High School in that community.

A key factor into those discussions, is a review of the number of days that students miss from school owing to sports or other school related activities.

Like School District 52, for Ketchikan schools travel can disrupt the routine of classroom instruction for the students, with Friday for the most part giving way to a travel day in most cases.

Owing to its geography and limited transportation access, travel for the Ketchikan students is even more challenging than for students of SD52, so the four day school week proposal may make sense for them.

However, there will clearly be a split in that community as the discussion moves forward, a number of those that have weighed in on the topic have already suggested it would be too disruptive for families and for those students that don't participate in the extra-curricular travelling activities.

It will be an interesting debate to follow and considering the concerns over local school attendance and travel requirements, could be one that School District 52 may wish to follow and ask for updates on from their northern neighbours.

You can learn more about the Ketchikan discussion from this report from community radio station KRBD, which outlines the project and the thoughts of those for and against the proposal.

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