A 4-day school week? An eastern Ontario school board wants to try it out

A French Catholic school board in and around Ottawa wants to let families at two elementary schools try a four-day school week next year, if the province approves.

In a news release Thursday, theConseil des coles catholiques du Centre-Est(CECCE) said, pending approval from the education ministry, families who opt in would start the school year a week early, spend 38 minutes more learning per dayand end the school year three days later than students on the traditional five-day week.

That would add up to the same amount of teaching hours, said the board, which believes it would be the first in Ontario and one of the first in North America to try this kind of schedule, citing school-life balance and well-being.

"It will enable [students and staff] to spend quality time with family, focus on their passions, participate in recreational activities, go to appointments, pursue their studies, engage in personal projects or simply rest," it said.

The board will now gauge interest from its families until April 10 and then would open it up to any family in the city who can get to one of the schools, similar to other specialty programs.

If approved, the board would also check in with families often during the year for feedback, it said.

In an email Thursday afternoon, a spokesperson for Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the ministry's position is students should be in school five days a week for their learning and mental health.

The board is looking at cole lmentaire catholiquel'toile-de-l'Estin Orlans andcole lmentaire catholique Saint-Rmiin Kanatafor this pilot.

There's an information session Monday at 6:30 p.m.