LINCOLN, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — In March, Lincoln Consolidated School District voted to move to a four-day school week. An attempt to combat teacher shortages and allow students and staff more time at home.

If you drive by Lincoln School’s parking lot, it’s likely it’s going to be deserted on a Monday.

But in 24 hours, teachers like Hailey Robinson will welcome students back from a long weekend
and get ready to start another four-day school week.

“Everything gets a little bit of extra time and care and purpose behind it,” Robinson said.

Robinson teaches a range of subjects from science to archery.

The schedule change adds about an hour and 20 minutes to the school day, extending each class period by 15 minutes. Time Robinson says is valuable.

“As a science teacher, that’s huge because [I’m] able to do labs that take longer, able to teach archery lessons, and really focus on one or two individuals that need support.”

Some students like senior Sarah Snodgrass say they’ll take the extra day off in exchange for more time learning.

“It gives us more time because I feel like whenever I am working on projects, I don’t have to be like alright I just need to get it done and get it submitted,” Snodgrass said. “I feel like I can look at it and be like okay is this how I want it to look and really perfect what I’m doing.”

It helps the days don’t feel much longer, at least for now.

“I came home after the first day of school and my mom was like so, did it feel longer and I was like no it flew by like any other day,” Snodgrass said.

When the bell rings at 4 p.m. Friday the countdown to Monday doesn’t seem so bad.

When it was first reported the district was moving to a four-day work week some parents were concerned about childcare on Mondays and buses getting kids home at a decent time.

The district says several organizations like churches have stepped up and offered to watch younger kids on their off days.

We’re going to follow up with the district at the end of the semester to see if the bus concerns were resolved.