An increasing number of Snohomish County school districts are providing fewer days of instruction — a sign of the times as schools search for more time to train teachers and chart strategies to improve student achievement.

The state-mandated 180-day school year has disappeared in half of the county’s districts as schools carve out time for teachers to plan, consult, collaborate and learn how to help students meet rigorous state academic standards and improve test scores.

In many cases, districts say, students get the same amount of instruction they did in the past. The difference is the districts have fewer early release days.

District officials say it boils down to time-investment strategies. Full days without students provide longer uninterrupted blocks of time for staff to focus on academics.

Arlington, Edmonds, Everett, Lake Stevens, Mukilteo, Northshore and Sultan received waivers from the state Board of Education to convert traditional instructional days into time dedicated to school improvement efforts. The Snohomish School District is seeking a waiver for next year.

Districts across the county have reduced instructional time by two to five days.

"If you are going to have higher (academic) standards, you better give people the means to get there and that means time," said Warren Hopkins, an assistant superintendent with the Arlington School District.

Since 1995, districts and individual schools have been able to use "waiver days" from the state’s required 180-day school year.

Terry Bergeson, the state superintendent of public instruction, said she has in the past unsuccessfully proposed 10 days of training and collaboration time for teachers so it wouldn’t interfere with the traditional 180-day school year.

"It’s a bad trade-off to have to make," she said, referring to waiver days. "We should have a longer school year for teachers and a longer school year for kids."

Some countries, such as Japan and Germany, have up to 40 more days of instruction than U.S. schools. It would be a costly proposition to add more days. Statewide, it could cost up to $25 million for each day added, according to state estimates.

The state now pays for 182 days a year — 180 with students and two days for other purposes. School calendars used to be 183 days but in the last couple of years state lawmakers cut a day of professional development in a money-saving move.

The decision to reduce the training and collaboration day came at a time when schools felt increasing pressure to improve state test scores and student learning — or face federal sanctions.

"In private industry, if you expected the kind of changes education is going through, they would give their employees lots of time to make the changes," said Bill Mester, superintendent of the Snohomish School District.

Schools have precious little time to meet the higher expectations, he said.

Snohomish has applied for three waiver days for next year. The district plans to let parents know how the time would be used, Mester said.

Patty Venema, a parent with two children at Cathcart Elementary School in the Snohomish district, said she understands the need for teachers to get training, plan and set instructional strategies.

"You can’t do a good job if you don’t have time to plan," she said. "You can’t expect teachers to do it on their own time."

Al Robinson, superintendent of the Sultan School District, said parents have not complained in his district, which has five fewer days of instruction — a total of 175 days.

The improvement days are on Mondays and parents are just glad to have fewer half days to make after-school arrangements for their children, he said.

Sen. Rosemary McAullife, D-Bothell, said the state was wise to approve waiver days in the early 1990s.

"It’s important for teacher quality," McAullife said. "It’s also about performance and not about seat time."

The Stanwood-Camano School District has maintained its 180-day school year.

It has earmarked training, planning and collaboration time with late starting times every Wednesday morning.

Before it decided on the late-start Wednesdays, the district met with parent groups and set up programs for families who needed to drop off their students at the regular time.

Each school has a different program, but students are offered tutoring help, enrichment classes and recreational opportunities, said Jean Shumate, the district’s superintendent.

"It’s working very well for us," she said.

Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.