WARRENTON, Mo. — The four-day school week is a growing trend that's gaining popularity in Missouri.
The Warren County R-III School District is one of the districts reaping the benefits of this method.
Superintendent Gregg Klinginsmith said with the district being tucked halfway between St. Louis and Columbia it faces unique challenges.
"I wish this was a story about how a rural school district is able to pay teachers $100,000 a year, and we're paying them what they're worth and that sort of thing, but we just don't have that revenue," he said.
Since they don't have the money, Klinginsmith said their bargaining chip for keeping employees is time.
"We want to retain our best teachers and attract the best teachers and so the four-day school weeks has definitely helped us do that," he said.
The district is currently in their fifth year using this method.
According to Klinginsmith, they have seen teacher retention immensely improve, but they're not the only ones it's benefitting.
"We saw a drastic decrease in student discipline, and we know that discipline is a major disruption to learning," he said.
From Warrenton to Columbia, every single district along Interstate 70 is currently doing four-day school weeks, according to Klinginsmith.
More than 30% of school districts across the state have latched onto this model.
Chris Gaines, Education Plus CEO, said it's been interesting to see it expand across the state.
"When four-day weeks first started in Missouri, the districts that made the move was largely for financial reasons," he said.
Recently though, according to Gaines, many schools are trying out the four-day school week for the same reason Warren County did. It's all about keeping staff.
"It's certainly attractive for some employees and how they can work their family situation around it," he said.
While it's a model that may not fit perfectly in every community, Gaines said, it's a trend that's only expanding in our state.
"It's very much a local decision and we've seen more and more kind of making that move," he said.
Not everyone is on board the four-day school week.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona was in town last week and spoke very critically about this model. He said he believes our country can't compete internationally if we are shortening the school week and kids need more, not less.