All instructional staff at One City Schools will begin working a four-day work week when school starts on Sept. 1, One City announced on Friday. This includes all teachers, assistant teachers and student support personnel who work directly with One City’s young scholars at its public charter elementary school and new grades 6-12 public charter high school that will open this fall with grades 6, 9 and 10.
“Our Head of Schools, Devon Davis, brought the idea of a four-day work week to me while we were discussing ways to help our educators overcome new levels of exhaustion brought on by the pandemic,” said Kaleem Caire, One City CEO and founder, in a statement. “We also discussed other strategies that could help us keep our educators fresh and energized as they work to help our scholars overcome significant learning losses, pandemic-influenced traumas, and longstanding achievement and opportunity gaps that preceded the pandemic.
“Considering how much mental and physical energy educators have to expend to help our children catch up and move forward, and to give them one additional day to breathe and take care of themselves and their families, a four-day work week made a lot of sense,” he added.
One City decided to shift to a four-day work week to keep its instructional staff fresh, according to a press release from the school, as they work to help young people overcome dramatic pandemic-era learning losses while concurrently working to prepare young scholars for a rigorous, inspiring and engaging college and career preparatory program when they reach high school.
One City preschool, located on Madison’s south side, will also pilot a four-day work week this summer as well. All three of One City’s schools will continue to be open to students Monday through Friday, five days per week.
