Texas school district to begin implementing 4-day school week

ATHENS, Texas (KTRK) -- The school year at Athens ISD starts Monday, which means the band is getting back together. However, this year is going to be a little different.

Athens ISD, which is located southeast of Dallas and west of Tyler, is switching to a four-day instructional week. That means there will not be classes on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

This trend has become popular around the country. Some schools in Colorado and Oklahoma have already made the change.

"Because of where we are, we're not that far from Dallas, and so we are at a bit of a competitive disadvantage when it comes to salaries," said Athens ISD Communications Coordinator Toni Clay.

The school district hopes this will encourage teachers to join the district and ultimately stick around.

"If I wasn't here, I would definitely be looking here to teach here now that I know this is available," said Cody Smith, an Athens ISD Chemistry teacher.

Some parents are not on board with the decision, noting that both school days and year itself are longer.

The four-day school week will be a three-year pilot program.