Experts warn Crosby ISD's 4-day school week will reap academic damage
CROSBY, Texas - In Crosby, the deal is done. The regular school week sliced back in the fall from five days to four days, with each slightly extended by 25 minutes.
While many in the district of 6,000-plus students support the move, others expressed concern.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Crosby ISD School Board votes to move to 4-day school weeks
"These plans haven't been in effect long enough to know the outcome of these changes. 40% of your students say that this will negatively affect them," said Tiffany Mueller, a Crosby resident.
While Crosby ISD's Superintendent predicts the shorter week will fill a teacher shortage and attract instructional talent, Dr. Bob Sanborn, leader of the advocacy group "Children at Risk", is forecasting an academic catastrophe in the harshest possible terms.
"The four-day school week is going to be a disaster for parents who have to work. It's a disaster for kids who are not going to be academically successful. The only winner here is the superintendent who may save some money, but I guarantee you when those test scores come rolling in next year, those kids will be in a place where they don't need to be and that superintendent is going to be out of a job," said Sanborn.
Citing deep learning loss during the pandemic, Sanborn says students need "additional time on task," not less.
"You do a four-day school week. Those kids will never get up to speed," said Sanborn.
Well known Houston-area Special Needs advocate Louis Geigerman echoed Sanborn's alarm, predicting Crosby students with intellectual challenges will suffer widespread regression with a day less per week in their therapeutic classrooms.
"Let’s start thinking less about your bottom-line. Let’s start thinking less about you can't recruit teachers. Pay them more money, train them, Start thinking about the kids, because this is a terrible idea. This will hurt special needs kids terribly. You need to re-do your vote," said Geigerman.
With Mondays CISD school board vote, Crosby becomes the largest of the more than 40 districts across the state adopting a four-day week.