The Impact of Four-Day School Weeks on Teacher Recruitment in Missouri

Since 2010, approximately 20% of Missouri public school districts have adopted a four-day school week (4DSW), and nearly all of those districts are in rural areas. The stated reasons for adoption are cost savings and teacher recruitment and retention. In this brief, we use data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) from 2009-2020 to determine the impact of four-day school weeks on teacher recruitment. We find:

  • Compared to rural districts with 5-day school weeks, rural districts with four-day weeks have more success filling vacancies with qualified candidates.

  • In rural districts and in districts statewide, increased teacher salaries can improve the success rate of districts in recruiting qualified teachers, regardless of their implementation of four-day or five-day weeks.

  • When considering all districts statewide, the adoption of a four-day school week did not have a significant effect on measures of teacher recruitment.

 

 
 
 
 
Teachers, 4DSWEvan RhinesmithSchool of Education at Saint Louis UniversityAnita Manion, Sapna VarkeyComment