Across the country, an increasing number of school districts have put an end to the typical school week. Instead, they have opted for a four-day school week. In the past three years, more than 200 school districts have reduced their school week to just four days.

So, what is pushing schools to suddenly start using a four-day week? More importantly, what does it mean for the future of education?

About 850 school districts have implemented a four-day school week nationwide. But the new change remains widely unpopular in California. Currently, only two school districts in the state employ a four-day week.

EdSource attributes the four-day school week’s unpopularity to a California law which states schools must meet a certain number of instructional days. If a school fails to meet the requirement, their funding is reduced.

But the four-day school week has provided a solution to a detrimental problem. For nearly a decade, schools have been suffering from teacher shortages. Our current teachers’ resignations and our severe lack of incoming teachers threatens the quality of students’ education.

Fighting to find a solution, some school districts turned to the four-day week as a method of attracting new teachers.

Although students generally like the new schedule, early results show that elementary and middle school students with four-day school weeks have tested lower than average in math and English.

However, high schools saw unchanged test scores and a significant decrease in violence and bullying.

“It would be nice to have an extra day to rest and spend time with family,” freshman Sophia Luppino said. “I feel like it would balance the week a little bit and also give students more time to focus on other activities they enjoy like art and music.”