BRIGHTON, Colo. — Emma Cable, a junior at Eagle Ridge Academy in this working-class suburb north of Denver, spends her Mondays at volleyball practice and volunteering at a seeing-eye dog organization. Isabelle Jaramillo, a third grader at Northeast Elementary, spends hers at the local Boys & Girls Club, while Angelica Gallegos, a sixth grader at Vikan Middle, and her brother, Paul, a fourth grader at Pennock Elementary, go with their mother to Barr Lake State Park.

Different grades, different activities and one thing in common: None of these students spend that day in class.

That's because their school district, 27J Schools in Adams County, Colorado, switched to a four-day school week at the start of this school year as part of an effort to recruit and retain better teachers. With 28 schools and about 18,000 students, it was the first district in a major metropolitan area and the largest school district in the United States to make the change, though it's been a growing trend among rural districts.

Now, at the end of the experiment's first year, those affected gave it mixed reviews. While kids and teachers relished the regular long weekends, parents did not. Those with younger kids worried about child care, and those with older children worried about the unstructured free time.

Paul, 9, and Angelica Gallegos, 12, use their Mondays to volunteer at Barr Lake State Park. Rachel Woolf / for NBC News

But 27J Schools, whose teachers are the lowest paid in the Denver metro area despite numerous attempts to increase local taxes to fund raises, could still be a model for other major urban and suburban districts facing funding and staffing challenges and looking for creative ways to attract quality educators. So far, the district — which has committed to the shortened schedule for at least another two school years — has seen increased and more promising teacher applicants and lower staff turnover.

“We weren't going to compete in the current system. You just can’t be dead last in funding, last in starting teacher salaries, last in average teacher pay and expect you’ll attract the best folks,” 27J Schools Superintendent Dr. Chris Fiedler told NBC News in a recent interview.

Making a four-day week happen

In most states, including Colorado, minimum instructional requirements for public schools are governed by hours in the classroom, not days. As a result, resource-strapped districts like 27J can cut a day from the school week but still comply with requirements by extending the length of the other four school days.

Under their revised schedule, elementary school days were extended 40 minutes, while middle and high school schedules implemented longer eight-hour days. Mondays were dropped.

“Unlike Friday, Monday is a day for kids and teachers to prepare for the week," Fiedler said.