Four-day school week: How one Colorado public school made an impossible-sounding idea happen.

My “school day” alarm is set for 6:15, Monday through Thursday. On Fridays, I sleep until the sun naturally wakes me up, boil water for a French press, and slowly begin the last work day of the week by chatting with my little family in front of our fireplace. Friday functions as a transition day in our household because our daughters’ public school in the mountains has operated on a four-day schedule for the past three years, which is not uncommon in Colorado. Nearly two-thirds of Colorado school districts operate on a four-day schedule, according to the Colorado School Finance Project, which is perhaps a factor contributing to Colorado being named a top state for work-life balance.