Rainier schools go to four-day week

Going into the 2025/26 school year, Rainier will be implementing a four-day school week. This will be Monday through Thursday, and students will no longer attend school on Fridays.

Over a third of the schools in Oregon - and many across the U.S. - have started implementing this schedule in recent years, in order to cut costs on transporting students and operating the building for an extra day each week, as well as to help with attendance for students who need more time at home or out of the classroom.

Policies still require a certain amount of hours in the school year. To make up for this, Rainier will make a few other schedule changes. As many have heard, the school days will be extended by about 48 minutes, with a start time of 7:50 a.m. and an end time of 3:38 p.m. The school year will also be starting earlier next year, with the first day of school planned for Monday, Aug. 25.

The class period lengths will likely not change drastically, with the possibility of five extra minutes per class. Instead, advisory will become a regular class period. In the past, advisory classes were only half an hour and once a week, but making them part of the daily schedule may have some advantages academically. There will also be an additional break before lunch in between periods for students to go to their lockers, get a snack, and have a short break.

Julie Hird is a student in the Rainier School District. Student submissions are welcome. Email submissions to kirk@waheagle.com.