It may sound like a dream come true for some South Dakota students: more and more schools are switching to four-day weeks, and administrators say the benefits are anything but imaginary.  This year, five school districts changed their calendars for a total of 20 districts that now go four days a week.

For most of those districts, the decision began as a cost-saving measure, but they quickly learned there was much more to it.

Custer students go to school just four days a week, Monday through Thursday, and most in school now have never known any other way. The district made the switch 14 years ago and has never looked back.

"It's a way of life now,” Superintendent Tim Creal said. “I think it would be very difficult for the community to go back to five days."

Creal says the goal was to save money.  And they do, between $50,000 and $70,000 a year. But most of that is transportation costs, so the savings really depend on fuel prices.

As the district got into the swing of the four-day week, administrators began to realize they could cut out a lot of "fluff" during regular class time because Fridays are open for parties and projects. The result was a more focused, productive school day.

"I hear from high school teachers who say since activities aren't pulling kids out of the classrooms as much, they feel they cover 20 percent more material," Creal said.

One of the biggest concerns in the community was whether losing one day a week would put students behind in their studies. Would achievement scores suffer? As it turns out, Creal says it wasn't an issue.

"Test scores didn't change a lot,” Creal said.  “They increased slightly, but nothing statistically significant or that we can contribute to the four-day week."

With Custer's success, several other school districts started looking at the four-day week. This year, Iroquois is one of five that started that format.

"I've been real happy with what I've seen,"  Iroquois Superintendent Mark Sampson said.

In Iroquois' case, Sampson says saving money is certainly part of it, but not the driving force. Instead, it's the demands placed on students and teachers under the No Child Left Behind Act. Standards are higher, which means teachers need more time to develop strong curriculum.

"Some Fridays we do in-service where we can focus on one thing for four to five hours,” Sampson said. “After that it's time for teacher planning, where we can really work at our lesson plans and do better development of it."

Teachers no longer have to work six days a week to meet those demands, and Sampson says students are the ones who benefit in the end.

"If we're building better lesson plans, if we have time to in-service teachers and teachers are better equipped, we'll have a better product and we can do it in four days," Sampson said.

As for the students, they're transitioning pretty well.

"I actually slept 'til noon that first week,” Iroquois senior Kendall Leichtenberg said. “It was one of the easiest adjustments I've ever made."

"I think our students are happier.  I think our teachers are happier," Sampson said.

Sampson says even though it's the first year, he's already pleased with the results and sees more schools making the four-day decision.

Another big concern in both Custer and Iroquois was child care; what to do with young children on Fridays. Both superintendents say community members took the lead and came up with local solutions and it hasn't been an issue since.

Nationwide, more than 100 districts in 17 states currently go four days a week.