SAN ANGELO, TX — "For most students it’s optional, if you fail the progress report, if you failed a report card, then it becomes mandatory you attend for tutoring purposes," said Superintendent Gabriel Zamora.
Thursday is the new Friday at Olfen ISD.
"So many of our kids live far away so ultimately with that ‘four-day’ in there was a solution that we elected to go down that path and so afar its worked out," he said.
With regular class days running from Monday through Thursday some might assume the curriculum is too lenient or kids are missing out on a proper education. But Zamora says it’s quite the opposite.
"It’s kind of the best of both worlds; you can have your cake and eat it too when it comes to our core subject areas and the schedule that we run,” he said.
Just this past year the Board was named Region School Board of the Year. And Olfen continues to attract more families.
The school was founded in 1900 but it wasn’t until 2016 that the district decided to move toward a 4-day school week.
"This past year was the first time that we had a graduating class in the 100 plus years of the districts history," said Zamora.
Between offering small class sizes, grades at capacity, and paying for high schoolers Associates Degree programs there's not much to complain about it this small town.
"A couple of years ago we were the only district in the state that was doing a 4-day week and more people wanted to join the Olfen family and now it’s a perpetual model," he said.
Like most things there are cons, but to many parents who prioritize academics they say it's not much of a hinderance.
"We don’t have the sports the way other districts that are larger do, but we do have sports,” he said.
Turning to a 4-day week also saves the district transportation costs and allows them to focus on the students who choose to come to school on Friday to receive extra help.