Four-Day Week Finds a Niche in the Rural West

By Lonnie Harp

School officials in Pritchett, Colo., recommend an interesting cure for the Monday blues: Wait till Tuesday.

Mondays may be for trips to the orthodontist, buying jeans at the mall, putting the finishing touches on the science-fair project, or moving cattle. But in Pritchett, Mondays are not for school.

The remote, 85-student district in southeastern Colorado is one of about 100 districts around the country where school is a four-day-a-week affair. By adding Monday or Friday to the weekend, the districts say they save money, help students and teachers focus more on classwork,...