Middle School start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the current schedule.

Middle schoolers are fine with the current schedule

LOL, no, they're not at all. C2 it is. E defeats the whole point of this exercise by not shifting MS late enough, and causes everyone else to shift as well. "Ease of communication"? What a horsesh!t justification... "Dear parents, next year Larla's school will be shifting their bell schedule to <X>". Doesn't really matter what X is for communication purposes.

E will be chosen as it’s the least disruptive. Everyone will have to compromise by 30 minutes.

It is the most disruptive! Literally that schedule is only good for middle school. Seriously, anyone thinking ES should be going to school till 4:35 and getting home past 5, is insane, especially for middle schoolers to get 30 extra mins of sleep.

So you really just mean it’s the most disruptive for elem kids. This study is about what’s best for middle schoolers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the current schedule.

Middle schoolers are fine with the current schedule

LOL, no, they're not at all. C2 it is. E defeats the whole point of this exercise by not shifting MS late enough, and causes everyone else to shift as well. "Ease of communication"? What a horsesh!t justification... "Dear parents, next year Larla's school will be shifting their bell schedule to <X>". Doesn't really matter what X is for communication purposes.

E will be chosen as it’s the least disruptive. Everyone will have to compromise by 30 minutes.

It is the most disruptive! Literally that schedule is only good for middle school. Seriously, anyone thinking ES should be going to school till 4:35 and getting home past 5, is insane, especially for middle schoolers to get 30 extra mins of sleep.

So you really just mean it’s the most disruptive for elem kids. This study is about what’s best for middle schoolers.

Yes. And guess what, what is best for ES kids is an earlier start and secondary a later start. By pushing 30 mins later you are now not giving ES kids what they need. The last hour is so hard. It is night/day behavior wise and learning wise for these kids from the morning sessions to the afternoon. By pushing ES 30 mins later you will have even more ineffective teaching and learning occurring. So yes, the study is about middle school but should not make other grades not get what they need to be successful.

The only pushback to C2 is coming from middle school parents/staff. But that plan gives EVERY KID in FCPS a time that will help them learn best.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep the current schedule.

Middle schoolers are fine with the current schedule

LOL, no, they're not at all. C2 it is. E defeats the whole point of this exercise by not shifting MS late enough, and causes everyone else to shift as well. "Ease of communication"? What a horsesh!t justification... "Dear parents, next year Larla's school will be shifting their bell schedule to <X>". Doesn't really matter what X is for communication purposes.

E will be chosen as it’s the least disruptive. Everyone will have to compromise by 30 minutes.

It is the most disruptive! Literally that schedule is only good for middle school. Seriously, anyone thinking ES should be going to school till 4:35 and getting home past 5, is insane, especially for middle schoolers to get 30 extra mins of sleep.

So you really just mean it’s the most disruptive for elem kids. This study is about what’s best for middle schoolers.

DP... not really, that's what driving it, but in making a decision affects students at all levels, and all will be considered.

There's generally only one year's worth of MS students who would ever be "disrupted" by a change (whoever happens to be starting 8th when the change is implemented, or 7th/8th at the 6-8 MS), for everyone else it will just be the normal schedule when they enter MS. Fortunately, the disruption is for the better for their physical and mental health and ability to learn, so doesn't seem like a big deal either way. All the surrounding logistics of before/after school care or extracurriculars or whatever else will adjust.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My middle schooler is now in high school (all honors courses) and did AAP in middle school. They definitely had homework. They also made straight As. If your middle schooler doesn’t have any work, chances are they aren’t in very challenging classes or aren’t taking their classes seriously.

+1 I teach middle school and listen to my students talk about their homework. Almost all of them have homework on the days they have math, English, Spanish, and history/civics. They are constantly talking about their math, DuoLingo, and English/no red ink homework, and they frequently also discuss their history/civics work. (I teach both seventh and eighth grades, which is why some students are in history and some in civics)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My middle schooler is now in high school (all honors courses) and did AAP in middle school. They definitely had homework. They also made straight As. If your middle schooler doesn’t have any work, chances are they aren’t in very challenging classes or aren’t taking their classes seriously.

My kid is in 7th grade. He has straight As while taking AAP and taking a full year language. He rarely has homework and when he does it takes under 30 minutes. Different kids, different experiences. He has friends with hours of homework on a regular basis.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

Stop making stuff up. Name the school.
My high school DD when she was at Longfellow MS, she rarely did homework at home. Kids were given time to do them during Lancer Time ( study hall/ free period).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

Stop making stuff up. Name the school.
My high school DD when she was at Longfellow MS, she rarely did homework at home. Kids were given time to do them during Lancer Time (

study hall/ free period).

Teacher here. If the kids spend their free block socializing and not being productive, they will have HW. There are tons of kids who choose not to use their time wisely or they process things slower and a 10 min assignment might take them 30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

So we are going to ruin school for elementary kids by sending them to school until 4:30 PM, and mess up high school schedules of the kids who have hours of real homework, whose grades actually count for college, and whose sport/musicals/concerts/jobs already finish at 10:00 PM or later, to aapease a small group of middle school parents whose kids screw around in class not doing their (easy) school work, for 2 quick years of inconvenience?

Only this school board could be so short sighted and foolish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

Stop making stuff up. Name the school.
My high school DD when she was at Longfellow MS, she rarely did homework at home. Kids were given time to do them during Lancer Time ( study hall/ free period).

A lot of kids screw around during school.

We shouldn't blow up the entire system just for them.

We should put them in a more structured, supervised study hall.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

So we are going to ruin school for elementary kids by sending them to school until 4:30 PM, and mess up high school schedules of the kids who have hours of real homework, whose grades actually count for college, and whose sport/musicals/concerts/jobs already finish at 10:00 PM or later, to aapease a small group of middle school parents whose kids screw around in class not doing their (easy) school work, for 2 quick years of inconvenience?

Only this school board could be so short sighted and foolish.

Kids will adjust. It’s only 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ 3rd paragraph should end with "either way". Yes, MS schedule shifts more under C2 but that's kind of the whole point. It's a minor adjustment for the MS years.

Getting out at 4:25 pm doesn’t make sense for middle schoolers - they have more time consuming homework. And they wouldn’t be able to do any sports or activities. That is why E makes more sense - MS will get 30 extra minutes of sleep and still have their after school activities. Many elementary schools are already homework free so those students can get out later.

My middle schooler rarely has homework. They do all their work in class. Do you even have a middle schooler?

My MS kid rarely has homework but he has friends who always have homework. Some kids can’t get the work done in class and have to finish at home. The notices posted on schoology seem to indicate that it is a decent number of kids.

Stop making stuff up. Name the school.
My high school DD when she was at Longfellow MS, she rarely did homework at home. Kids were given time to do them during Lancer Time (

study hall/ free period).

Teacher here. If the kids spend their free block socializing and not being productive, they will have HW. There are tons of kids who choose not to use their time wisely or they process things slower and a 10 min assignment might take them 30.

Then those kids need more structure and supervision.

You don't ruin the schedule for 93% of the students because a small percentage of middle schoolers can get out of bed or goof off during study hall

Middle schools is just 2 grades. 2 years.

Give them whatever the worst schedule is. Either keep tge early schedule, or bump is back 30 minutes moving elementary to 7:30AM and having middle school get out at 4:30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Option E has my elementary schooler arriving home at 5:00pm (30 minute bus ride). That is ridiculous.

Why would you make your kid ride the bus for 30 min? Just use kiss n ride.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t imagine many ES teachers would be happy with a school day ending at 4:35.

I would leave. I know of several teachers in my building who would as well. I already commute from another county and it won’t be worth it at that point.

Elementary should be the earliest start time.

Agree. Loudoun does it without an issue.

So you want to have elem kids starting between 7:20-7:30 am. Loudoun parents complain. It’s hell for 6 years there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of middle school teachers prefer the early current schedule.

It will still be early - 8 am.

Noooo.

8AM is the high school start time.

They have real homework, jobs, actual activities that go very late, and grades that matter.

They need to keep the 8-3 ish schedule for the high school.

Middle school does not need the most convenient time slot

It is 2 friggin years.

High school currently is 8:10 am. It would get pushed to 8:40 am. That’s fine with my high schooler!