Why Do We Have A 4-Day Academic Week?
We’re glad you asked. Many of our families tell us that they love the four-day week, though not everyone knows why ACA has a slightly pared-down schedule.
The primary reason is partnership with parents. We believe parents are their children’s first and best teachers, no matter the child’s age (or the parents’ mastery of Latin nouns). Our schedule allows parents to support and supplement classroom instruction by giving students time at home, and it gives families time to do additional things together, such as spend a day hiking, take a long weekend trip, visit a museum in the city together, work on a service project, develop new skills or hobbies, and much more.
The second reason behind our four-day week is ACA’s emphasis on time well spent: Wise use of time coupled with diligent, age-appropriate focus on a task develops in our students the ability to tackle the work at hand and to learn diligence. From diligence comes joy! You work hard on a task; you see the fruit of your labor; you feel good about it! So often the world flips this order. It says: If you feel good about something, do it. ACA says: Work hard on this task for 10 minutes (if you’re in kindergarten) or an hour (if you’re in ninth-grade) and then see what you’ve accomplished, and then praise God for it! Genesis 1-3 shows us that work is rooted in God’s design for human life and flourishing, and it shows us that the fruit of that work is beautiful and the response to it is delight and joy.
Of course, there are myriad other benefits to our academic schedule: We see fewer mid-day absences or late arrivals with a four-day schedule because parents can schedule appointments (such as routine doctor visits and dental check-ups) on Fridays. Students get some well-deserved rest and play time (and extra sleep!), even as we accomplish our curricular goals each week. Teachers attend professional development and staff meetings on Fridays, which keeps ACA from having a smattering of days off during the year that interrupts the regular rhythm of the academic week.
Bottom line: Education is not merely the development of knowledge and skills. It’s also the formation of affections and daily practices; it teaches students how to orient their lives. Our four-day schedule enables us to teach the curriculum, shape godly practices, and also to leave room for other good things in our students’ lives.
