Four days or five, that has been on the question for the Clarke School Board, administration, staff and community members for some months. After much discussion, meetings and surveys regarding the fate of Clarke Community Schools’ 2026-27 calendar, a proposed calendar was released Saturday afternoon that seeks to balance the wants and needs of the community with the best environment for Clarke students.
With 170 student days and 1,102.5 student hours, the proposed calendar will have one Friday off a month for professional development days and the remaining Fridays a two-hour early dismal for students - not counting Friday holidays or breaks.
In an email sent by Clarke Superintendent Dr. Kurt DeVore, he wrote the calendar proposal is the work of a collaborative journey that prioritized the voices of those affected by the calendar.
“Our January Community Forum allowed parents and stakeholders to gather in breakout groups to discuss the benefits and challenges of various innovative models… We received over 1,100 survey responses, including specific input from 518 parents and 414 students,” he said. “By opening this process to the entire district rather than a small group, we ensured that the final proposal reflects a broad spectrum of needs and ideas.”
In December, a survey was sent to school stakeholders seeking to gather feedback about the interest in a four-day school week. While that survey garnered an 83% positive interest in the concept, there still remained many unknowns, particularly in how a change from five to four days would affect student achievement and outcome. Acknowledging wanting what was best for students, the school board also noted the need to make some sort of change to strengthen teacher recruitment and retention, as the turnover rates and small applicant pools create challenges annually.
“We’ve struggled with retention and recruitment and we’ve been in a rut,” Clarke School Board member Dr. Ben Hicks said at a Jan. 14 work session. “It’s really hard to really differentiate ourselves from other schools.”
With more and more schools around the state moving to four-day school weeks, the school board felt the need to do something to attract more applicants, with one possible solution being a shorter school week. This school year, 27 Iowa districts reported being on a four-day school week schedule, up from 18 in the year prior. So far this calendar year, Southeast Warren, Glidden-Ralston and River Valley school districts have approved the change to a four-day week for the 2026-27 school year. In the case of Southeast Warren, the change was made largely to help with retention and recruitment.
To make a four-day school week as successful as possible at Clarke, school administrators made a request at the Jan. 14 work session to have a final decision on the matter by the Feb. 9 regular board meeting. At that February meeting, the board agreed they were not ready to make the change to a four-day for next year, but to instead explore the possibility of some sort of hybrid calendar.
“I think our admin needs a chance to get behind a calendar that they believe in and are passionate about,” board member Brad Lampe said at the meeting.
What that hybrid calendar may look like at the time was unknown, but the result was shared in Saturday’s email, noted as a “strategic middle ground, addressing the core concerns of a traditional five-day week while capturing the flexibility of a modern schedule.”
Proposed calendar
The proposed calendar has the first day of school Aug. 24 and the final day May 26, 2027 with graduation May 16. Winter break will occur Dec. 21 through Jan. 2 with a teacher in-service day Jan. 4 before classes resume Jan. 5, and spring break March 15 to 19. Homecoming is scheduled for nearly a month earlier than last year, set for Sept. 4. The school day’s start and stop times remain the same - 8 a.m. start for all with elementary dismissal at 3:10 p.m. and secondary at 3:25. The Friday early dismissals will be at 1 p.m. for elementary and 1:15 for secondary.
By maintaining a five-day school week, students will keep their daily interaction with teachers, noted as imperative for certain areas such as the dual language program, special services, music and core literacy. Five-day contact is noted as essential for special education students while also allowing teachers time to complete IEPs and evaluations. Concerns of food insecurity for students who rely on school meals will be addressed with the calendar. There is no anticipated disruption to the Pre-K schedules, and bus schedules should remain largely unchanged.
The benefits of early outs on Fridays offer flexibility to staff. With instructional time in the mornings, the afternoons will have dedicated PLC time and prep time with the continued once a month dedicated in-service day. In the case of snow days, the afternoon in-service may serve as a built-in make-up day. Associate staff will maintain consistent hours with the opportunity to sign up for additional classroom support or projects on Friday afternoons.
This calendar also offers flexibility for students to use Friday afternoons for internships or job shadowing opportunities, or for those who work to be able to work more hours, without missing instructional time. The calendar offers a competitive edge to Clarke in the job market by giving teachers that extra time dedicated to prep and learning.
“I want to sincerely thank every parent, guardian and student who invested their time and energy into this five-month process,” DeVore penned. “Your willingness to explore and develop these innovative and visionary calendar options is what makes our community strong.”
The calendar will be presented at the school board meeting this coming Monday. The meeting begins at 5:30 in the Central Administration Building.