When five shrinks to four: Assessing the four-day school week in rural locales

In rural school districts across the country, four-day school weeks have proliferated. Currently adopted in 1,600 schools in 600 school districts, 90% of which are rural, four-day school week policies have prospered largely without a robust body of evidence to support their expansion. J. Cameron Anglum presents an overview of four-day school week policy expansion and describes a few of the studies into its effects on students, families, and communities.

Effectiveness of isolation policies in schools: evidence from a mathematical model of influenza and COVID-19

Background Non-pharmaceutical interventions such as social distancing, school closures and travel restrictions are often implemented to control outbreaks of infectious diseases. For influenza in schools, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) recommends that febrile students remain isolated at home until they have been fever-free for at least one day and a related policy is recommended for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19). Other authors proposed using a school week of four or fewer days of in-person instruction for all students to reduce transmission. However, there is limited evidence supporting the effectiveness of these interventions. Methods We introduced a mathematical model of school outbreaks that considers both intervention methods. Our model accounts for the school structure and schedule, as well as the time-progression of fever symptoms and viral shedding. The model was validated on outbreaks of seasonal and pandemic influenza and COVID-19 in schools. It was then used to estimate the outbreak curves and the proportion of the population infected (attack rate) under the proposed interventions. Results For influenza, the CDC-recommended one day of post-fever isolation can reduce the attack rate by a median (interquartile range) of 29 (13–59)%. With 2 days of post-fever isolation the attack rate could be reduced by 70 (55–85)%. Alternatively, shortening the school week to 4 and 3 days reduces the attack rate by 73 (64–88)% and 93 (91–97)%, respectively. For COVID-19, application of post-fever isolation policy was found to be less effective and reduced the attack rate by 10 (5–17)% for a 2-day isolation policy and by 14 (5–26)% for 14 days. A 4-day school week would reduce the median attack rate in a COVID-19 outbreak by 57 (52–64)%, while a 3-day school week would reduce it by 81 (79–83)%. In both infections, shortening the school week significantly reduced the duration of outbreaks. Conclusions Shortening the school week could be an important tool for controlling influenza and COVID-19 in schools and similar settings. Additionally, the CDC-recommended post-fever isolation policy for influenza could be enhanced by requiring two days of isolation instead of one.

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY OF PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS DEPENDING ON GENDER IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE SCHOOL YEAR AND THE ACTIONS OF PARENTS TO MAINTAIN AND STRENGTHEN THE HEALTH

The aim: Study of psychophysiological features of children depending on gender in the dynamics of the school year and the action of parents on preventive measures among primary school children Materials and methods: The study of biological adaptation of primary school students was conducted in two stages among second-graders (children 7-8 years) in the dynamics of the week and year. A total of 46 children (24 girls and 22 boys). The psychophysiological part of the study included electroencephalography (EEG) recording to assess the individual characteristics of the nervous system and determine mental performance. The next step was to determine mental performance, which is one of the important criteria for the health of schoolchildren, which characterizes the relationship between the functional state of the child’s body and learning load. The analysis of mental capacity was conducted at school with the permission of parents during the first school week and the last school week. Results: Based on the recorded EEG, the average values of the peak frequencies in each lead in the five ranges were calculated. When comparing the average values of indicators recorded in the modes of quiet wakefulness and mental load (mental account) at the beginning of the year, using a nonparametric criterion of signs revealed significant (p <0,05) differences between peak frequencies in the ranges β1 and β2 . The average peak frequency in the β1 range at rest (14.3 ± 0.5 Hz) is higher than during mental stress (13.8 ± 0.4 Hz). autonomy of regulation (p <0.01) in girls at the end of the school year is characterized by higher values. Analysis of data on the mental capacity of first-graders showed that the dynamics of the week among boys the number of traced signs increased from (120.5 ± 2.6) to (122.3 ± 4.8) signs, (p> 0.05) by the end of the week , and had the largest number of signs on Wednesday (127.4 ± 4.2) but had no significant difference Conclusions: Preventive measures such as sleep and rest, walks in the fresh air aimed at promoting health can be the same for both girls and boys, but more attention and control over the implementation of these measures should be paid to boys.

eLearning Environments as Engaging Invitations to Elementary Age Learners

This discussion shares one working parent's experiences, as a parent aiding her daughter in an eLearning environment. In March 2019, the daughter's elementary school shut down due to COVID-19. Soon after, the schools began using Zoom and Schoology to help maintain a semblance of normalcy and a semblance of attempts towards continuing the learning process within a challenging cultural and sociological situation. What is shared is the parent's journey through which the parent struggled to sustain levels of normalcy in the home and the community. The focus of the discussion revolved around the school week, the school day, and school-based relationships, while also emphasizing the parent's voice through her perspective.

Keeping Up With the Joneses: District Adoption of the 4-Day School Week in Rural Missouri

In recent years, rural school district adoption of 4-day school weeks has grown markedly. Despite this rapid growth, scant empirical evidence has documented the factors associated with district adoption and subsequent effects on student, labor, and economic outcomes. We examine the spread of the 4-day school week in rural Missouri, where over 10% of the state’s districts have adopted the policy in the past decade, the majority over the past 2 years. To help policymakers understand why districts forgo a day of instruction and to contextualize postpolicy effects, we conduct a survival analysis to assess student, district, and staff characteristics associated with policy adoption. We find that the presence of nearby 4-day school week districts most strongly predicts policy adoption. Adopting districts typically offer lower teacher salaries than nearby districts and have declining student enrollments. Our findings may inform policy focused on teacher recruitment and retention in rural locales.