Controversial 4-Day School Week In Chattooga Co.

Most students rolled out of bed Monday morning for their first or second Monday in school, but not in Chattooga County, Georgia. That system moved to a four-day week, in part to save money, for cooling expenses of the school buildings in this sweltering heat.

The change has been a controversial one. Parents tell NewsChannel 9 they didn't get much notice of the decision last month. Parents are now juggling their work schedules and one teacher tells us it brings a learning advantage, particularly for complex subjects.

A look inside Summerville Middle school, open only for maintenance, shows long, empty hallways and classrooms. Students and teachers have Mondays off.

Chattooga County moved to a four day week, with longer days. The day starts ten minutes earlier at 7:40 a.m. and finishes 35 minutes later at 3:40 p.m.

R. D. Adams has to adjust. Adams picked his son up after football practice. He works third shift and his wife commutes to Kennesaw.

"Sometimes I might not get home at 7:30, enough time to bring him to school," Adams said.

But his son, Renzell, likes the new schedule.

"Go to practice Monday, and sleep in the rest of the day," Renzell Adams said, to which his dad chuckled.

"I didn't like it, still don't like it," Deanna Maddux stated.

Maddux sees another problem aside from rearranging her schedule to pick up her son from football practice.

"It's kind of crazy to cut it down to four days. And with children that have like attention deficit disorder, I feel bad for them because how are they going to stay focused for a longer day," Maddux said.

Jeff Nelson and Debra Osborne teach eighth grade science at Summerville Middle School. With the day off, they got a jump start on their lesson plans inside Osborne's classroom.

Osborne says with a three day weekend, parents need to push their children to study to retain the information they learned. But she also sees an advantage of a four day week, especially with subjects like science that require labs.

"They have extra time in those four days, they are able to concentrate a little more. We have longer instructional periods during those days," Osborne said.

NewsChannel 9 met one parent who has five children in the Chattooga County school system. And she says she has no problem with going to a four day week. Tiffany Romine's oldest child, Gage Reece, helps her manage the change.

"He's in the ninth grade, so he just helps out with the younger kids. So the other parents that don't have an older one to help out, I understand where they're coming from," Romine said.

Romine said several churches sent a newsletter through the community to help out with daycare. One of the child care businesses NewsChannel 9 contacted has picked up six additional children, with each of those parents rearranging their schedules to deal with Mondays.