INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Students and staff at the Independence School District began a new school year Monday.
With the district's new four-day schedule, which adds 35 minutes per day to provide the same instructional time overall, the first day was one of only a handful of Mondays the district will be in session.
On Mondays when school is not in session, the district will offer child care, for a cost, as well as free grab-and-go meals for any ISD child or parent.
Additional offerings such as academic support, clubs and college credit courses will be made available on Mondays, too.
Ahead of the first day, KSHB 41 News anchor Lindsay Shively caught up with teacher Jason Grubb.
The U.S. government teacher, who is a parent of four, also serves as a girl's tennis coach for the district. He explained his plans for the schedule change.
“The biggest thing is just, as a teacher and as a person, for years I've constantly had to battle wanting to do more, wanting to do more as a teacher and as a professional,” Grubb said. “But I'm gonna really try to use this as a kick start to set some personal boundaries with my family and make sure I have some set-aside time.”
Superintendent Dr. Dale Herl said the district saw an influx of teacher job applications after announcing the new schedule.
Data from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education reports 144 districts used a four-day school week for the 2022-23 school year, which was an increase from a decade ago.
During the 2013-14 school year, the department reported 10 districts using a four-day school week.
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