After one school district in Denton County announced that it will switch to a four-day week, the four school districts in southern Denton County confirmed that they are not considering a similar change.
Sanger ISD turned heads this week when it announced that during the 2024-25 academic year, it will switch to a four-day instructional week to help with teacher retention. The district said it, like other rural school districts in Texas, can’t compete with the pay and benefits packages offered by larger districts and it is experiencing a teacher shortage.
“To achieve our goal of recruiting and retaining the highest quality teachers for our students, we must think outside the box,” Sanger ISD said in a statement. “In a growing trend that has proven successful in other districts across the nation and particularly in rural school districts in Texas, the transition to a 4-day school week has proven to be an effective recruiting/retaining tool for teachers and all staff. With a 4-day instructional week, we would entice more talented teachers and staff to join Sanger ISD and decrease the ever-rising turnover rate.”
After that announcement, The Cross Timbers Gazette reached out to spokespeople at the four school districts in southern Denton County to ask if a four-day instructional week was under consideration. Spokespeople for Argyle, Lewisville and Northwest ISDs all said that those districts are not considering/discussing such a change. A Denton ISD spokesman simply referred to the district’s 2024-25 school year calendar, which has traditional five-day weeks.
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