CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ)– Students at Bishop McCort Catholic High School will now be heading to school four days a week instead of the usual five.

The Board of Trustees voted that the high school, located in Johnstown, will go to an Innovative Learning Schedule for the 2023-24 academic year, McCort Principal/CAO Tom Smith said.

“Many schools across the nation have moved to this model and found great success,” Smith said. “By converting to this new weekly schedule, we are able to sustain the length of the school year while providing 3,392 additional minutes of instruction per year for our students.”

The high school decided to move forward with the new schedule after four months of informational meetings with surveys involving parents, students, faculty and staff. Smith said the feedback school got back was “overwhelmingly in favor” of the new schedule.

This schedule will be a four-day school week with an optional Friday Enrichment Day, where students can partake in opportunities outside the classroom. Tutoring in the mornings will also be offered by teachers for students who still want to get one-on-one interaction.

“Adapting this schedule and programming for the students at Bishop McCort will be revolutionary for the Johnstown region,” Smith said.

During the afternoon on Fridays, students will partake in programs that will involve life skills classes, motivational speakers and field trips to community events and historical sites.

A shorter school week is starting to become more of the norm in America. As of 2019, there are over 1,600 schools in about 650 districts that have shortened their week.