🎙️ Welcome to The Prodigy Way Podcast, where we break down our highly successful, unique, individualized educational structure. Why do we have a 4 Day School Week at Prodigy? There are some incredible benefits you might not expect. Join in and listen to Mr. Russell Grammer as he breaks down this topic. 

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Jump to Specific Topics:

Intro: 00:00

2 Reasons we adopted the model: 00:35

A troubling trend in institutionalized education: 1:41

We need to empower and strengthen families: 2:18

What Fridays look like for our teachers: 3:37

The teacher sets the tone for learning: 4:42

Time for teacher support and collaboration is key: 5:33

We’re still learning and innovating: 6:34

What was professional development like in the public schools? 7:51

Autonomy allows for educators to innovate: 8:34

The difference an empowered teacher can make: 10:30

Our days are longer: 12:12

4 day vs 5 day school week: 13:31

We need to strengthen families: 14:21

We need to empower our teachers and allow time for rest: 16:41

Students need more time with their families: 18:41

A concern about longer weekends: 19:49

Parents are the primary influence over their children: 21:29

A flaw with the institutionalized approach to education: 22:18

The message we give to students, teachers, and parents: 23:32

Conclusion: 24:00

3 Key Takeaways from This Episode:

A 4 day school week creates more time for families to be together.

Having Friday off from school allows students to spend time with their families–whether it’s parents, grandparents, or others. Though many parents do still work on Fridays, those who work from home or who have more flexible schedules tend to cherish the extra time with their quickly-growing children. Additionally, the 3 day weekend provides many more opportunities for families to take mini vacations and getaways together. 

A healthy work-life balance for teachers is vital.

Teachers have one of the hardest jobs known to man, and one of the most important, too. Providing our teachers with the autonomy and responsibility to meet children at their individual levels from a whole-person perspective is highly fulfilling but also exhausting. Our teachers work half days on Fridays. They have the chance to complete lesson plans, meet with parents, collaborate with one another, and go through professional development. This one-day difference provides our teachers with time to reflect, learn, and prepare, while still allowing for a two-day weekend for rest and relaxation. 

Family > Institutions.

Over recent decades, our society has been trending away from families and towards institutions. Many students across the country eat breakfast, lunch, and sometimes even dinner at school. This shift away from time with family is very damaging, and cripples important chances for healthy familial relationship growth. Parents are their children’s number one influencers, and it’s important that they are encouraged and supported in this role, not removed from it. 

About Prodigy Leadership Academy:

Each child is loved and uniquely designed by God for great purposes. Prodigy Leadership Academy exists to provide a tailored education to maximize the God-given potential of every student.

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