PASCO COUNTY, Fla — A local Tampa Bay-area school district is planning to add four-day weekends to the upcoming school year to increase student attendance.
Pasco County's school board voted Tuesday to make the change for the 2024-25 school year. They say it simply comes down to the increasing number of parents pulling their kids out of school to go on family vacations.
"We can encourage our students and families to take their mini trips or vacations on those long weekends instead of taking off instructional days," a Pasco County Schools official said during a school board meeting. "So we're going to try and market that to our families as, 'Here are some mini breaks throughout the year so that if you want to take some time off, let's do it then and not miss school.'"
The longer weekends will only be on certain days in October, February and April. A schedule posted to Pasco County Schools' Facebook page shows the approved calendar with three four-day weekends for students and teachers.
The weekends chosen are reportedly times when families tend to pull students out.
Board members say despite those extra days off, the next school year will have more instructional time.
This change comes after several companies recently changed to allow three-day weekends to boost the morale and productivity of employees.