After consideration of comments made by 22 attendees of a public meeting in Glendo, in addition to an initial public meeting and board workshop in early April, the board of Platte County School District No. 1 approved a four-day school week for students in Glendo. The motion passed 5-0. Connie Eller and Chase Irvine were absent from the meeting.

The 2024-25 school schedule was previously approved in January for a five-day school week (with a 1 p.m. early release on Fridays), but after being approached by several parents, administrators followed the legal steps necessary to see if it would be a good fit for the town. Some of those steps included hosting two public meetings and creating a schedule for consideration of the board, before any decision was made.

“Not everybody was in favor of this – we heard things from both sides. A lot of people are not for this, and I've tried to play the devil's advocate with everything I've been told,” trustee Amanda Fox said. “Many of the parents [of students] who go there (Glendo School) are in favor of it. Not only that, but [teachers] gave specific examples of how things will work better and more efficient [with a four-day school week.]”

“I was not at the meeting, but (from the public meeting notes and information from the workshop) I got two negative opinions, the rest was positive. I think the majority of parents are in favor,” chairman Lu Lay said.

Fox questioned the superintendent about the impact on classified staff, to which superintendent John Weigel said the support staff doesn't currently always work a full work week, and the new schedule would not impact their ability to receive benefits. Principal Tom Waring said he will make sure the hours are there for those employees.

In the public meeting, board treasurer Connie Eller stated she was for the schedule change and saw it as a way to open up opportunities for growth in attendance at the school. Two teachers said the extra time in class would be beneficial to their students as they would have more time for direct instruction with the multiple grade levels in their classes. It was also suggested teacher recruitment would be more competitive, as many qualified teachers would prefer a four-day school week. Additionally mentioned at the public meeting, statistics show less fatigue among the students and teachers, as well as increased attendance. Finally, academic test scores also improved in four-day schools “when done right,” as stated in the public meeting.

The proposed four-day schedule would only affect Glendo School, and would add 35 minutes to the school day, Monday through Thursday. The new schedule would consist of 965.25 contact hours of student-teacher instruction time as compared to the current 1,110.11. The state sets 950 contact hours as the requirement for middle school/Jr. High grades, so both schedules exceed state requirements.

Parents and community members said they looked forward to the opportunity to join together to plan enrichment activities for students of parents who worked on Fridays.

University of Wyoming's 4-H Youth Educator for the Platte County Extension office, Stacy Buchholz, said at a local meeting of UW Alumni, she is preparing plans to offer structured activities on Fridays for students in Glendo.

Following the board's approval, the new schedule must be approved by the Wyoming Department of Education at its meeting the first week of May before Glendo's new schedule can be officially adopted.