4-Day Week Proposal Fails at Willow Springs School

The Willow Springs R-IV School District Board of Education has decided to use a traditional five-day calendar for the 2025-2026 school year instead of a proposed four-day/hybrid schedule. The board voted five to one in favor of the five-day calendar, with Board President Mac Gum voting against it and member Jeff Lovan absent from the meeting.

 

Board members noted the compromises and changes to the calendar made by superintendent Dr. Marty Spence, but block scheduling would prove to be a sticking point. The changes from the four-day/hybrid calendar first proposed in February included replacing at least one four-day week with a five-day week every month, adding Monday programs for students, and adjusting start-end times of the school day so students would be picked up at the same time as they currently are.

 

Dr. Spence noted that moving from the current block schedule to a traditional, seven-hour class day would be very difficult. Willow Springs High School uses a block schedule. This is different from a traditional seven-class day in that block classes last 90 minutes and are held every other day, on “White” and “Maroon” days. According to the survey performed in January, the block schedule is very popular among teachers and students at Willow Springs.

 

All board members who voted in favor of the five-day week spoke against going to a hybrid calendar while using the block schedule. These were members Brent Colley, Debbie Bryan, Scott Foster, Adam Webb, and Matt Hobson. The school administration was in attendance, and student liaison Tobie Brotherton attempted to encourage the board to try the hybrid calendar with the block schedule for the first year, but to no avail. “The big red flag I see waving is that we would be the only school in the entire state of Missouri on block scheduling on a four-day week,” said Colley. Hobson claimed block scheduling was, “wildly unpopular” in the community and contradicts, “our number one goal of listening to the community.”

 

Bryan, Webb, and Hobson said they felt like the hybrid calendar was pushed on them.

 

“I feel like this is something that we can do to keep the best person in front of our students,” said Gum, referring to how the hybrid schedule is expected to attract and retain teachers in Willow Springs. He spoke on the potential good things that could come from the Mondays when class is out, but activities are occurring, mentioning a presentation by the FFA earlier that day. “I'm confident that if we were to go to the hybrid schedule and the block schedule was an utter failure, I think it would be evident if it was. There's no doubt we would change,” Gum said.

 

Many guests commented on the schedule. One parent commented that the hybrid schedule should not be used as a teacher retention tool, but that the board should make the school a more attractive place to work.

 

“If we were the only school in the whole state that has both a hybrid schedule and block,” said board candidate Lori (Foster) Logan, “I don't think you want to experiment.” Her concern surrounded if the hybrid and block schedule begun to fail and needed adjustment.

 

“The people in the community express their voice when they go to the polls and vote for school board members,” said Director of Special Education Marlenia Barker to the board. “Sometimes, that's how their voice is heard. They go vote for the people that they think are going to make the decision that represents them. I know that in smaller elections, such as school board elections, the people that show up to the polls are the majority of your teachers in this district.”

 

When surveyed, the hybrid schedule had a majority of supportive responses, with school staff being 82.81% supportive.

 

When it came to board action on which calendar to vote on, Hobson made a motion to approve the standard five-day calendar, seconded by Webb. The motion passed with Colley, Bryant, Foster, Webb, and Hobson voting in favor and Gum opposed.