Houston Elementary School in the Mineral Wells Independent School District started the school year in a position that made school leaders everywhere jealous.
“We started the year without any openings, which in this day and age is a big deal," said Jacy Roach in an interview at the beginning of the school year.
More than 40 school districts around Texas have switched to 4-day weeks; the schools offering this are having a much easier time keeping their teachers in the classroom.
It’s mostly worked in rural areas but has crept into the suburbs. Mesquite ISD announced a plan in February to possibly do the same thing.
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The district said their superintendent ultimately decided against the plan, parents had expressed concern about child care. In an episode of "Soup with the Superintendent," last year, Mesquite ISD’s new leader told us how hard it was to compete for teachers.
“Our biggest challenge is teacher compensation. I felt like all the superintendents were playing chess. Who's going to unveil their compensation package first so I can one-up them?" said Angel Rivera, Superintendent of the Mesquite ISD.
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There’s always the concern about how parents of young children could work and have their kids home while they’re at work. Mesquite surveyed parents and talked about opening one school for parents who needed sitters, something they’ve done in Mineral Wells.
But Mesquite ISD’s survey showed a majority of parents said they wouldn’t need it.
Still, it’s opened the door to discussions of the steps districts are taking to try to keep teachers, even at the expense of inconveniencing parents.
"When teachers tell you they're burned out they're tired what that is code for is I'm being asked to do everything and then I' 'm being paid whatever I'm being paid," said HD Chambers, of the Texas School Alliance, a group that represents some of the largest school districts in Texas.
Chambers said it's not just money, but all of the pressure we put on teachers, and schools have to try to alleviate it.
Little Elm ISD tried to move to a 4-day week as well and like Mesquite parents weren’t happy with the idea so they moved away from it. They still are struggling to fill open positions and are going back to the drawing board.
