Study: Shorter school weeks don't mean longer vacations
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
A new study released by the University of Minnesota found that families in districts with four-day school weeks take shorter vacations.
Those families take more day trips, according to the study done by the university's Tourism Center, because their school calendars are filled with three-day weekends. Tthose families take 40 percent more day trips than families in districts with traditional school weeks.
But the study found the families took fewer trips — 27 percent fewer — that required an overnight stay in a hotel, compared to families in districts with traditional five-day school weeks.
"There was a significant impact on the number of longer trips people were taking," said center director Ingrid Schneider. "By longer trips we're talking about those that are four-plus days.
Schneider said are unsure why four-day school weeks lead to shorter vacations, but says it is valuable data for the state's tourism industry to have.
In recent years, 13 Minnesota school districts have cited budget reasons for adopting shorter school weeks.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Dear reader,
Political debates with family or friends can get heated. But what if there was a way to handle them better?
You can learn how to have civil political conversations with our new e-book!
Download our free e-book, Talking Sense: Have Hard Political Conversations, Better, and learn how to talk without the tension.
