Can four-day school weeks help tackle teacher shortages?

Education leaders in a small New Mexico city are among a number of school districts turning to a four-day school week as a way to recruit teachers amid a nationwide teacher shortage, hoping three-day weekends will make their district more attractive than others. But it’s unclear if the format will work everywhere.

For years, New Mexico’s Socorro Consolidated Schools struggled to attract teachers, according to Superintendent Ron Hendrix. The district serves a small area nestled between Albuquerque and Las Cruces.

“Anybody new coming out of college, if they’ve got the choice between Albuquerque or Las Cruces to teach in or Socorro, they’re going to pick one of the bigger cities because there’s just a lot more things for them to do,” Hendrix said.