New MCPS Elementary School times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it odd that Fairfax was able to solve this problem.

High schools in FFX are starting at an actual reasonable time (not a token extra 10 minutes) and elementary school kids are not getting home at 5pm from the bus. Why can't MCPS learn from across the river? Its not that far, they don't need a big travel budget.

Fairfax was able to solve the problem (if you call it solving the problem) by having the middle schools start ridiculously early, instead of the high schools. I'm glad that MCPS didn't do that.

But the middle schools in Fairfax are only 2 grades - 7 and 8th. They don't have the amounts of homework, jobs and varsity sports to worry about. I think they made the right decision.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I did write a letter but it all felt on deaf ears. My understanding is the idea of elementary starting first was not killed by parent complaints but because it was expensive. The board told Starr to find a solution that cost no additional money but still allowed HS to start later. And this is what the administration could do within those parameters. This is a case of the board having an agenda that they wanted implemented and not caring about any additional problems that they created.

It is costing $12 million

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Isn't it odd that Fairfax was able to solve this problem.

High schools in FFX are starting at an actual reasonable time (not a token extra 10 minutes) and elementary school kids are not getting home at 5pm from the bus. Why can't MCPS learn from across the river? Its not that far, they don't need a big travel budget.

Fairfax was able to solve the problem (if you call it solving the problem) by having the middle schools start ridiculously early, instead of the high schools. I'm glad that MCPS didn't do that.

But the middle schools in Fairfax are only 2 grades - 7 and 8th. They don't have the amounts of homework, jobs and varsity sports to worry about. I think they made the right decision.

Maybe they made the right decision for Fairfax, or maybe they didn't. Regardless, it wouldn't be the right decision for MCPS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I did write a letter but it all felt on deaf ears. My understanding is the idea of elementary starting first was not killed by parent complaints but because it was expensive. The board told Starr to find a solution that cost no additional money but still allowed HS to start later. And this is what the administration could do within those parameters. This is a case of the board having an agenda that they wanted implemented and not caring about any additional problems that they created.

It is costing $12 million

Where did you get that number from?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a funny thread. A LOT of Monday morning quarterbacking. Many of you complaning did not lift a finger to make your objections known - did not attend the meetings or wrtie comments. I attended the info meeting about this change and the BOE discussion about it. One proposal was to switch and let the ES kids go to school first. I cannot tell you how many ES parents said that the early times for ES would be bad...create problems...make aftecare an issue....aloow less time in the morning with families. The ONLY way to make everyone happy on this issue was for MOCO to not provide transportation for MS and HS and transport only ES. But then again, people would have bitched about that.

Yea, I think MCPS realizes that they can't and will never be able to please *everyone*.

Then nothing should have changed in the first place. And it would have saved 12 million dollars of budget money.

I second this.

--MCPS teacher

[Anonymous]

I am wondering what cost 12 million dollars..

[Anonymous]

This link states the cost of the 20 minute shift is "minimal" so I am not sure where 12 mill came from.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/belltimesworkgroup/SummaryofBellTimes_FLYER_English.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am wondering what cost 12 million dollars..

I don't think that anything did.

[Anonymous]

I think the $12M must be the Fairfax cost of changing bell times not the MCPS. According to the below, the cost difference was minimal for MCPS.

http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/uploadedFiles/info/belltimesworkgroup/SummaryofBellTimes_FLYER_English.pdf

[Anonymous]

I just looked at the full slate of bell times...and all I can say is that the tier 1 elementary schools and middle schools all start at the exact same time as they did when I was growing up in the county. Tier 2 elementary schools are a little later (and I am unaware whether there was a tier 2 start time back then). The high school start time is the same for all schools now, and is 10 minutes earlier than it was at my high school (although back then, some high schools did start as early as 7:25, I believe). I've also noticed that across the board, the school day is now 30 minutes longer than when I grew up. I do think it would be better for high school to start a bit later (even the 8:15 middle school time), but I realize the expense of the additional buses would make that impossible.

[Anonymous]

I know the HS start time is only 20 minutes off but our neighborhood bus is somehow 35 minutes later. It used to get to school a full 30 minutes before school started. A nice change.