Students at Peachtree Elementary School in Aurora will enjoy three-day weekends beginning Sept. 3.

The private school on Wednesday released information that students will have extended days Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The decision comes amid rising fuel costs.

The school was looking for a way to help parents save money and the four-day week may help cut energy costs as well, a press release said.

“We haven't estimated the savings to the school,” said principal Barbara Post. “We are focusing this year on the savings of individual parents.”

The school will remain open on Fridays in September, October and November as an alternative to child care Post said.

“We surveyed parents to see who needed child care and spoke with them directly,” she said.

Many of the parents work at home so their schedules are more flexible, Post said. The school is also trying to help people arrange play dates and carpooling for Fridays. The school has 25 students this year.

“We're a very small school,” she said. “We know who's where and who needs what. We'll facilitate whenever we can.”

The idea was brought forward in July and Post met with parents to discuss the pros and cons of switching to the four-day week. Then, the idea was taken to the board where there were further discussions about child care and other detailed issues, Post said. Before the final decision was made, Post talked to the parents once more to make sure they still supported the proposal.

Dee Sprague, who has two children that attend Peachtree Elementary, believes the four-day week is a good idea. Because her family lives 20 miles away from school, it will help her save money on gas. There is also an emotional benefit to have one extra day in the weekend, Sprague said. Her children are also looking forward to the extra day off.

“I just can't tell you how much of a positive experience the school has been for them and so, we're so willing to try the four-day school week. We really want to support the school whatever way we can,” she said. “My kids feel very positive about it although there's a longer school day.”

Sprague said that she has not heard parents voice concern about the change in schedule.

“There's a number of us who are just so willing to arrange play dates,” she said. “It's a pretty funky group of parents and kids.”

About 100 schools in as many as 16 states have already moved to a four-day school week, many to save money on transportation, heating and cooling, Marc Egan, the director of federal affairs at the National School Boards Association, said in a Reuters story.

Jeanne Hogan, principal of Tyburn Academy in Auburn, said that while the school is interested in energy savings, it hasn't implemented anything yet.

“We hadn't even discussed it,” she said about the possibility of switching to a four-day week. “But it's an option we could consider in the future.”

Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net

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