Fifth-grader Aiden Martin is pretty sure he's going to spend his Mondays away from school playing video games.
"It's awesome," he said. "Only 30 minutes are going to be added onto each school day."
Of course, his parents may have other plans. They and all others in the North Callaway R-1 school district are navigating the district's decision to switch to a four-day school week for the 2017-18 year.
Superintendent Bryan Thomsen said the idea of a four-day week initially came up about three years ago when the Harrisburg school district made the switch. At the time, limited data led to the district taking a wait-and-see approach. Meanwhile, the state kept tightening budgets.
"Toward the beginning of this school year, we began seeing the data," Thomsen said. "The school board asked me to do the research and present it to them."
Thomsen looked at data for nearby districts, such as Wellsville and Montgomery County, and also at districts in other states.
"I discovered there was no data that showed a statistically significant impact on student achievement," he said.
In other words, switching to a four-day week apparently neither harmed nor boosted academic performance. That was a major consideration for the district, he added.
For teachers, the extra day off means more time to spend with their families or perform duties like grading homework and planning lessons.
"As a school, we're excited to see how we can move forward and help kids with the longer school day," said first-grade teacher Bekah Masthay. "For one, our lessons won't be cut short as often" with the extra 35 minutes of instruction time a day.
One Monday per month will be used as a professional development day, Thomsen said. Other Mondays could become make-up days if inclement weather causes cancellations.
Thomsen made it clear teacher salaries won't be negatively impacted.
A four-day week "can be a recruitment advantage over larger city schools for rural districts," he said.
Even with teacher salaries holding steady, the district calculates it will save about 1 percent of its annual budget.
In January, the school sent out a survey to canvass parent opinions. The Board of Education voted Feb. 16 to confirm the next year's calendar, which included the four-day week.
Parent reactions have been mixed, with a recent survey finding 65.7 percent for, 13 percent against and the rest undecided.
Parent Matt Huyser represented the majority opinion.
"I think it's going to be beneficial," he said. "There's lots of worry about it, but no one likes change at first."
He has two children in the North Callaway system, and his wife is a teacher.
"On those four days they are here, they'll get more instruction," he said. "And part of growing up is having time to be a kid."
Not everyone shares his enthusiasm, however.
"I don't like it," said Steven Barnhart, who has a daughter in kindergarten. "I don't think it's enough time for learning."
He said his daughter has a sitter already, so child care isn't a worry for him. But it is for other parents.
"(My kids) are old enough that it won't affect us too much, but I understand the concerns of other parents," Paul Killian said. "I'd like to see it be a kick in the butt to where (the district) has to spend money better."
The district is still contemplating the child care issue, Thomsen said. Approaches in other districts vary.
"One district actually opened up a couple rooms at the school and had some of the parents that stayed home and churches run a day care," said Regan Love, president of the district's board of education. "It only lasted a couple weeks until people figured out how to handle the situation."
Thomsen said high school students often start doing babysitting on their day off, and local day cares may allow a few more children to come on Mondays. Love said district-operated preschool and day care will remain open five days a week.
Another concern Love has heard: high school students who attend the vocational and technical school in Mexico. They'll still attend on Mondays and can either drive themselves or take the bus.
"If we try this for a year or two and it doesn't seem to be a good fit, we could go back," Love said. "However, I've only heard of one district that's gone to the four-day and switched back to a five-day week. My hope and prayer is that it works for our district."