Why is LVISD considering this? 

In hopes of retaining our current staff, recruiting highly qualified educators to teach in our community, as well as to improve work/life balance for our employees. 

Why is it important to have an effective teacher? 

Research by John Hattie suggest that having a strong teacher in the classroom has the greatest impact on student achievement. To see the graphic, go to the video or presentation slides on the home page.

Is there a reason we are considering Fridays rather than Mondays? 

In collecting feedback from districts across the state, it has been found that logistics for UIL events, dual credit, and other district activities/partnerships benefit more from flexibility on Fridays rather than Mondays. 

Will teachers have to work every Friday?  

No, teachers may work on select Fridays throughout the year for professional development and professional learning communities, but will be off most Fridays. 

What about non-teaching staff? 

The leader of each department within the district will discuss with their staff and set a work schedule based on what the instructional calendar looks like.

What would be the length of each school day? 

We currently go to school 450 minutes or 7.5 hours  a day. The school a day will be 495 minutes or 8 hours and 15 minutes a day. 

If LVISD moves to a 4-Day Instructional Week, and it does not fit the needs of our community, can we go back to 5-days? 

Yes, this will be a three-year pilot.  Should this not fit our community, we will have the option to transition back to a 5-day week. 

How long will the school year be?  How long will the school day be? 

Click to view the 2023-2024 Academic Calendar.

Will coaching staff have to work Fridays when other employees are off? 

Coaching staff may have to work on a Friday when they are in season.  

How will this affect the 90% rule for student attendance? 

The 90% attendance rule will still be in place proportionate to the number of instructional days for the year.  LVISD is a district of innovation and has some flexibility around this. 

Will the same quality and quantity of instruction occur in a 4-Day week? 

Yes, students will still attend the required 75,600 minutes and will follow the same state required standards. 

When would the 4-Day Week go into effect? 

The 4-Day Week will go into effect for the 23-24 Academic Year.

Would 4 day instructional week have an impact on Occupational Therapy (OT)/Physical Therapy (PT) services from contracted personnel? 

No, contracted services can be provided during the 4 day week. Contractors will work within our parameters.

Will students getting speech be seen longer at a time or more days a week?

Students receiving speech services will be provided the same amount of services they are currently receiving.

Can Fridays be used for testing or tutoring for students receiving special education services?

Testing and tutoring will be provided during the 4 day instructional week.

Are there resources for students who have medical needs for Fridays? 

Many families with students with medical needs already have a private duty nurse who helps support them when they are in school and/or at home.  

Can a parent opt-out of HB4545 if the time were to be extended to Fridays?

According to the Texas Education Agency (TEA), at this time parents cannot opt out of HB4545. We have not discussed using Friday to service HB4545. If this changes, we will update this information.

Will LVISD provide meals to students in need on Fridays when students do not have school? 

Yes, LVISD will provide meals for students on Free & Reduced lunch on Fridays. 

When will families need to pick up the additional (Friday) meals if they are expected to pick them up?

Families who need meals can pick them up on Friday at the Intermediate campus. It will be a drive through set up. 

LVISD says they will support childcare on Friday for PreK-6 students.  Does this mean the district is paying for the Friday childcare fees?

Yes, the district will pay fees for Friday YMCA services for a number of spots (about 300 students).

Will there be a cost for a one-day, drop-in service? If so, how much is the predicted fee?

Yes, an unscheduled Friday drop-in service will be provided with a fee.  LVISD is  currently working with the YMCA to determine the cost of this service. 

Will there be activities planned per each age group? (Educational/PE/Outdoor) 

Yes, the YMCA does have activities planned for the children each day.

Does YMCA provide childcare for students in special education who have higher needs (lower functions students, behavior students)?

Yes, YMCA does provide childcare for SPED students. The district has provided training and support strategies (like a visual schedule) to the workers on how to help with the needs of the student in the past and will continue to do this.

Does the YMCA hire HS students for Fridays?

YMCA will not hire HS students unless they are a part of a work study program. 

Can we send a survey asking who would need the Friday school care?

Yes, we will send out a survey to see who would be interested in Friday school care.

Can we get a list of Childcare services who have before /after school care? Have we reached out to local daycare providers to talk logistics and their concerns since more seem to utilize that form of childcare?

Yes, if we move forward, we can reach out to local daycare providers to gather this information. At this time the YMCA is who we will be contracting with to provide childcare.

What is the maximum number of spots available with YMCA M-F currently?

Currently only 34 students use the YMCA program. The staff is 1 to 15 students. They will add additional staff depending on how many students are enrolled in the program.

Will YMCA students pay for lunch or is it included in tuition?

YMCA students can bring breakfast or lunch or purchase it at school. If they are free/reduced lunch, they will have access to that as well. YMCA will provide a snack that will be included in the fee for Friday.

Will moving to a 4-Day week reduce my pay? 

No, all LVISD employees would receive the same salary, there would be no reduction in pay.

What about for hourly employees? 

Going to this structure, we want to ensure that people do not lose pay. Other districts that have done this have adjusted pay rates and hours to make sure that people get the same take home amount in 4 days of work as they would in a normal 5 day work week. 

Will educators be compensated if they work on Friday? 

Any educators completing supplemental duties will be compensated. 

Will the difference of teacher work days affect our pay? Will we get paid more for working 175 days rather than 163?

No, teachers are on a step pay scale. Teacher pay will not change. Teacher’s daily rate may change according to the number of days in the contract, but they will still get the same annual salary according to what pay step they are on.

Will Athletics be negatively impacted? 

No, students will be able to participate in sporting events on all days of the week as they do currently.  Should a game/event be scheduled for a Friday with no instruction (no kids at school), transportation will be provided to ensure students are able to participate in their game/event.

Will LVISD provide transportation for students who participate in extracurriculars on Fridays when students do not have school?  

Yes, LVISD will provide transportation for all student extracurricular activities that occur on Fridays. 

How will this affect athletics and other extracurricular events that normally take place on Friday? 

Extracurricular activities will continue to be scheduled as normal on Fridays aligned to the UIL calendar. 

Will students still have pep rallies and other spirit activities? 

Yes, students will still participate in spirit activities. 

Will football games still occur on Fridays? 

Yes, football games will still be scheduled for Friday. 

Practice time: When will athletics practice start before or after school? 

Practice time will not be determined until the number of minutes have been decided. As soon as that is done, we can begin to work on the logistics of morning and afternoon practices for extracurricular activities.

Will attendance on Friday games/events be affected by students not being in school on Friday?

Our community is very supportive of our students in all events they are involved in. This should not affect the fans/supporters at these events.

Will students be excused from class early M-Th to practice or will practice be outside of the school day?

Practice will be before or after school depending on the minutes/hours and schedule set by the district. We will not excuse students from their classes to practice early.

Will this reduce the amount of instructional time students receive?

No, we are required by law to have students in school for no less than 75,600 minutes, so we will rework the instructional calendar to accommodate the length of the day to allow us to get the required number of minutes throughout the year.

What will services for special education students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) look like? 

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) minutes and services will be met. 

Will the amount of homework decrease for students? 

Homework should not increase compared to what is currently being assigned. 

Will this change allow the secondary campuses to go back to an 8 period day? 

It is a possibility.  This will be dependent on the academic calendar we select. 

What does the student achievement data show for districts who are currently practicing 4-Day Instructional Weeks? 

The information on the data can be viewed by clicking HERE. Please note these districts have different enrollment and demographics than LVISD.

What time would students who ride the bus get home in the evenings? 

Transportation routes are currently being examined to reduce the time students are away from home. Several routes have been identified and will be split. 

What is the cost savings in fuel/maintenance?

We do not currently have that information. We would have to determine the number of routes needed for students in the 23-24 school year. This would be determined by the number of students who need transportation to and from school as well as those needing transportation on Fridays. We will collect this data if we move forward with this plan.

Where is the extra money for more drivers coming from?

The money we received is determined by enrollment. As our enrollment continues to increase, we will receive funding to help meet the needs of those children. This includes more drivers to transport students to and from school.