4-Day School Week Approved For This Tucson High School: Here’s What That Means

TUCSON, AZ — Palo Verde Magnet High School is going to a four-day school week.

The Tucson Unified School District governing board voted 5-0 Tuesday to approve a four-day school week pilot at the Eastside campus, set to begin in the 2026-27 school year.

The proposal drew broad support from the school community. A parent survey presented at an April 14 board meeting showed 124 of 186 respondents strongly agreed with the change, and 38 more agreed.

An updated stakeholder survey presented Tuesday showed 8 out of 10 people in favor of the current proposal.

Under the new schedule, students would attend school Monday through Thursday from 8:10 a.m. to 4:10 p.m., with class periods extended by five minutes to make up for the lost day.

Fridays would not be a total day off. Students would have a five-hour window to come in for credit recovery, extra help or personal appointments.

Food service would also remain available, with students able to grab breakfast before visiting teachers, according to Palo Verde Principal Eric Brock.

School leaders said the pilot is aimed at addressing two pressing challenges: declining enrollment and teacher retention.

On the staffing side, Tucson Unified Chief Financial Officer Ricky Hernández told the board that teachers would continue to receive full salaries but would need to log additional hours during the week to fulfill their contracts.

Non-teaching salaried staff would remain on a standard 40-hour workweek and would likely work around six hours on Fridays, with individual school leaders setting those schedules.

To view the full meeting, click here.