-And for large suburban/urban districts I think the time of the large high school where 80% of the students drive to school is over. We should return to community based K-12 schools where most of the students walk to school.

And parents everywhere are wondering how they'd manage their kid being home one day a week, I bet.

But if we ALL move to a 4 day work week, where the parents are home that same day telecommuting, or growing a garden or what have you, it could be a good thing all the way 'round.

Erik

Many adults fade in the latter part of a long work day -- can't imagine it'd be any different for kids.  Schools could avoid this while still going with a 4-day schedule by dropping the stuff that has nothing to do with education, eg. "gym" (aka "phys ed").  An argument can be made that kids should be taught how to swim in school, but the rest isn't remotely educational.

The issue of child care for parents is significant.  I telecommute and could adapt, but we're not going to see telecommuting rates climb significantly anytime soon.  Quite a few jobs don't lend themselves to it, but for the ones that do, corporate reluctance to change, and dependence on telecommuting-hostile tools (eg. Microsoft OS's) are a big roadblock.

Our adults are in bad enough shape, why would you want to drop gym class.  A point when children can learn the benefits of a sound body and a sound mind.