A four-day week should be put in place to better student mental health and education.

Students at LSHS believe that 4-day school weeks will help them excel academically as well as provide more time to prioritize mental health.

A recent survey was sent out to the students at Lake Stevens High School to poll their opinion on whether or not 4-day school weeks should be implemented.

Of 2,140 students surveyed, 3.8% responded, and 63% are in favor of a 4-day week while 37% are not.

Although 37% of the 3.8% students said they don’t agree 4-day weeks should be enacted, 84% answered yes, to the question: Has school impacted your mental well-being, negatively?

“Yes, I am too stressed out,” junior Colin Carlson said.

Academic Pressure
Many students support the idea of 4-day weeks and the possibility to help them excel in school responsibilities.

A Viking student, who didn’t leave their name in the survey expressed frustration with the current school schedule.

“I constantly feel like I am falling behind in classes because we hardly have time to complete the assignments…I would perform better because I can work on last minute things,” the student said. 

Providing students with an extra day off relieves stress that students carry when juggling school while trying to maintain a positive mental state. The lack of time for studies could lead to burnout.

The Cons
Reducing the week down to four days would cause repercussions with families in the district. Some families rely on school to provide food and care for their children. By reducing the amount of days, this could cause financial burden from finding child care and nutrition for an extra day.

Shortening the school could be harder on younger children. With an extra day off, this makes the four days longer by an extra 90 minutes. In the end, this adds up to 9 hours a day at school, which is longer than what the average adult spends at work.

What About Personal Time?
“School takes up a lot of time for other important things people have to do,” junior Akilah Maggitt said.“An extra day off would benefit students who have to work and don’t get any breaks.”

The benefits of having that extra time can improve students’ sleep schedule, reduce stress and increase productivity. Not only does this extra day help students be in tune with themselves, it helps students take care of their obligations outside of school.

“It would benefit students mental health allowing for more time to take care of ourselves..I stay up late every night doing homework…I don’t even have time to get breakfast,” junior Aubrey Lynch said.

What Can We Do?
The School board should take this into consideration for the students of LSHS. Anyone can create a petition to show that we really care about the education and mental state of our students. It starts with students.