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BRIGHTON, Colo. — School District 27J will go from having classes five days a week to four days beginning with the 2018-19 school year starting in August, it was announced Monday.

The Brighton-based district said the four-day week will help create a schedule that it hopes will recruit and retain quality teachers as well as allow for the allocation of resources to items more critical to the district’s “primary purpose.”

School District 27J has been mulling the change from the traditional five-days-a-week plan since last year.

It serves 18,000 students in Brighton, Commerce City, Henderson, Thornton and Aurora.

“I realize this will be a significant change for our students, their families, and the communities we are so fortunate to serve, but our district can no longer be expected to do more with less financial resources,” 27J Superintendent Chris Fiedler said.

“We are 100 percent committed to providing our students with the necessary skills and competencies that will enable a future far beyond graduation.

“To that end, I believe it is in our students’ best interest to provide high quality, engaged teachers using 21st century tools for learning four days a week rather than not have them five days a week.”