APS Bell schedule review

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One of my main beefs with this survey is it doesn't tell us WHAT the savings are. If I could see a dollar value with each option (money saved over current costs) that may sway me. But just taking their word for it does give me pause. Since they apparently can't even write a decent survey, something it seems a high schooler could do pretty well, how are they comparing the costs and are they being realistic?

I don't mind changing the bell schedules, if it MAKES SENSE and saves money. I am not interested in changing the bell schedules and causing activity upheaval for no good reason.

Do you hear yourself? Clearly they just feel like f***ing with you and everyone else for no good reason.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don’t like that each option extends the total time for my HS student.

By 13 mins. Gee, what an impact in the grand scheme of things. Just goes to show someone at EPS will always find something to complain about.

Getting out later really messes things up for older kids who have jobs and activities after school. It does impact things for plenty of people, just not you. Just goes to show how someone will always find things to discredit other people's concerns.

13 minutes. Activities will be shifted due to an entire system of schools starting later. Every high school kid will be in the same situation. It's not as if they are shifting the day to an hour later.

One scenario doesn't have them getting out until 3:35. It's ridiculous!

What's so ridiculous about 3:35? It's only a half an hour and it actually puts it closer to the start time of some after-school activities that don't start until 4:00, which means less wasted/awkward time between end of school and start of activity

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If the schools end time changes, so will activity start times in Arlington. Geez. Unless what you’re really saying is that no changes should be made so you have time to drive your kid to travel sports conditioning in FFX on time. Eff that noise.

When you have a 3 or 4 hour shift/practice that begins right after school, you need time to get there, change and have a snack.

3:35 seems like a perfectly reasonable school end time to me. I don't know about other folks, but spouse and I work regularly until 5:30 - 6PM. We have always selected kids activities with a later start time, or which don't require significant driving in traffic. I don't know many FT working people who can get off at 3 on a regular basis to schlep middle or early high school kids across town for a 4PM practice start. And why is Larla practicing for 3-4 hours? Is she going to the Olympics?

Gymnasts regularly practice between 3-4 hours at a time. That's standard. The Olympians do much more. :p

Well then clearly, every other family in Arlington should work their schedules around the gymnastics kids who CHOOSE to involve themselves in an optional time-consuming activity.

Chill out. You asked what sports have long practices. Now you know. No one, even the PP, said everyone needs to conform to their schedule. They just said they didn't like it. Kids also start working in HS and many take those shifts right after school so they can still ahve time for homework after.

You are way too worked up about this.

[Anonymous]

You all realize you’re arguing a moot point? Like every decision they “engage” the community on, APS already has their predetermined plan. These surveys are completely for show. But keep on arguing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would love middle school to get out later. They’re at an age where they don’t want to do any kind of supervised aftercare and there isn’t often a lot of homework yet and while there are some after school sports and activities, it’s pretty minimal. It’s just a long afternoon for them to be wandering around getting into things or sitting at home.

I work at a MS and a lot of these kids pick up their siblings at elementary school and watch them. If we flip the times this would not work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all realize you’re arguing a moot point? Like every decision they “engage” the community on, APS already has their predetermined plan. These surveys are completely for show. But keep on arguing.

Every single time. The more “transparent” they pretend to be, the more you know they already have a plan ready to go and will insist that the community input matches that outcome.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You all realize you’re arguing a moot point? Like every decision they “engage” the community on, APS already has their predetermined plan. These surveys are completely for show. But keep on arguing.

I agree. I think that the purpose of these surveys is for the county to be able to give BS CYA explanations in the case their pre-determined decision proves to be highly unpopular.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:I don’t like that each option extends the total time for my HS student.

By 13 mins. Gee, what an impact in the grand scheme of things. Just goes to show someone at EPS will always find something to complain about.

Getting out later really messes things up for older kids who have jobs and activities after school. It does impact things for plenty of people, just not you. Just goes to show how someone will always find things to discredit other people's concerns.

13 minutes. Activities will be shifted due to an entire system of schools starting later. Every high school kid will be in the same situation. It's not as if they are shifting the day to an hour later.

One scenario doesn't have them getting out until 3:35. It's ridiculous!

What's so ridiculous about 3:35? It's only a half an hour and it actually puts it closer to the start time of some after-school activities that don't start until 4:00, which means less wasted/awkward time between end of school and start of activity

.

If the schools end time changes, so will activity start times in Arlington. Geez. Unless what you’re really saying is that no changes should be made so you have time to drive your kid to travel sports conditioning in FFX on time. Eff that noise.

When you have a 3 or 4 hour shift/practice that begins right after school, you need time to get there, change and have a snack.

3:35 seems like a perfectly reasonable school end time to me. I don't know about other folks, but spouse and I work regularly until 5:30 - 6PM. We have always selected kids activities with a later start time, or which don't require significant driving in traffic. I don't know many FT working people who can get off at 3 on a regular basis to schlep middle or early high school kids across town for a 4PM practice start. And why is Larla practicing for 3-4 hours? Is she going to the Olympics?

Gymnasts regularly practice between 3-4 hours at a time. That's standard. The Olympians do much more. :p

Well then clearly, every other family in Arlington should work their schedules around the gymnastics kids who CHOOSE to involve themselves in an optional time-consuming activity.

+1
Yes, all -- what % of the total student population --- of them?

[Anonymous]

Non-sports family here doesn't want HS to end later, either. It messes with after-school jobs.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:APS should keep tweaks as minimal as possible while meeting their transportation goals. If they need to make large shifts in time for some schools, limit it to choice schools and programs.

Wholesale flipping around of start times would have far reaching implications beyond the school day, from those that have already been mentioned, to stresses on facility and sports scheduling- pools, fields, gyms, etc. MS and HS should end their school days earlier to give students time to both participate in extracurricular activities and still have time to get homework and studying completed. Not to mention that it allows older siblings to be available to care for younger ones or hold a desperately needed part time job.

Tweaks ok, massive shifts not.

I like how you just completely ignore the research on physical and mental health impact to teenagers of early school start times (especially the current middle school start time). I guess their needs don’t deserve consideration in your analysis?

Oh, I considered it. I also considered that teenagers could get plenty of sleep if they go to bed earlier. There’s nothing magical about later school start times- it’s about getting enough sleep, whether that happens at night or in the morning. I managed early school starts, as did all my schoolmates, my husband and his schoolmates, my kids currently, along with students all around the world. The problem is bad sleep hygiene, not school start times.

Essentially kids would have to eliminate afterschool activities, jobs and child care they need to provide for their siblings to be able to go to bed earlier and address all of their homework. The way it is now, kids involved in so many activities, work, childcare, excess homework, something has to give. In this area we put so much pressure on these kids so what gives is sleep. They suffer buy outwardly it looks like they’re doing it all.

DP. What you seem to not be seeing is the fact that kids in those jobs and childcare roles are already giving up activities. You talk like all kids are doing all things - except the poor kids are doing even more because they have both younger siblings and jobs.

Always trotting out the poor kids to suit your argument. FFS. They can still take on jobs. Those jobs HS kids can do are all shift work, so everything will just shift. They’re only taking about a small change for HS kids anyway.

If you're referring to the immediately preceding comment, that was mine. I was not trotting out the poor kids to suit my argument. I was pointing out to the previous PP that the poor kids s/he refers to as argument against a later end time for high school already have the issues she's objecting to; that a half an hour isn't significantly changing their opportunities or options. In other words, that the poor kids - or any other group - don't suit his/her argument.

[Anonymous]

They really shouldn't be looking at this for 22/23. If they want to make a change this significant, it needs to be for 23/24.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They really shouldn't be looking at this for 22/23. If they want to make a change this significant, it needs to be for 23/24.

Nah, rip off the bandaid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They really shouldn't be looking at this for 22/23. If they want to make a change this significant, it needs to be for 23/24.

Hahahaha because that’s what we’re used to with APS? Think things through then decide?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They really shouldn't be looking at this for 22/23. If they want to make a change this significant, it needs to be for 23/24.

Hahahaha because that’s what we’re used to with APS? Think things through then decide?

You’re conveniently forgetting that whenever APS delays implementation of a decision, all they get is a year of abuse and protests from unhappy community members trying to convince them to undo the decision. I won’t defend every APS decision, but the community has behaved so atrociously in the past that I don’t blame APS for wanting to just do it so the community will start getting over it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:APS should keep tweaks as minimal as possible while meeting their transportation goals. If they need to make large shifts in time for some schools, limit it to choice schools and programs.

Wholesale flipping around of start times would have far reaching implications beyond the school day, from those that have already been mentioned, to stresses on facility and sports scheduling- pools, fields, gyms, etc. MS and HS should end their school days earlier to give students time to both participate in extracurricular activities and still have time to get homework and studying completed. Not to mention that it allows older siblings to be available to care for younger ones or hold a desperately needed part time job.

Tweaks ok, massive shifts not.

I like how you just completely ignore the research on physical and mental health impact to teenagers of early school start times (especially the current middle school start time). I guess their needs don’t deserve consideration in your analysis?

Oh, I considered it. I also considered that teenagers could get plenty of sleep if they go to bed earlier. There’s nothing magical about later school start times- it’s about getting enough sleep, whether that happens at night or in the morning. I managed early school starts, as did all my schoolmates, my husband and his schoolmates, my kids currently, along with students all around the world. The problem is bad sleep hygiene, not school start times.

In other words, you are ignoring the research on teen sleep cycles that demonstrates “go to bed earlier” is not an effective strategy at that age. Maybe it works with your 6 yo, but it won’t ten years from now when they’re 16.

It works just fine for both my high schooler and 6th grader. The middle schooler was alarmed when she heard that school start time could be potentially much later- she absolutely doesn’t want that. She just went to bed and will get enough sleep. My 16 year old will go to bed tired at 10:30 after a full day, and will also will get enough sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:APS should keep tweaks as minimal as possible while meeting their transportation goals. If they need to make large shifts in time for some schools, limit it to choice schools and programs.

Wholesale flipping around of start times would have far reaching implications beyond the school day, from those that have already been mentioned, to stresses on facility and sports scheduling- pools, fields, gyms, etc. MS and HS should end their school days earlier to give students time to both participate in extracurricular activities and still have time to get homework and studying completed. Not to mention that it allows older siblings to be available to care for younger ones or hold a desperately needed part time job.

Tweaks ok, massive shifts not.

I like how you just completely ignore the research on physical and mental health impact to teenagers of early school start times (especially the current middle school start time). I guess their needs don’t deserve consideration in your analysis?

Oh, I considered it. I also considered that teenagers could get plenty of sleep if they go to bed earlier. There’s nothing magical about later school start times- it’s about getting enough sleep, whether that happens at night or in the morning. I managed early school starts, as did all my schoolmates, my husband and his schoolmates, my kids currently, along with students all around the world. The problem is bad sleep hygiene, not school start times.

Essentially kids would have to eliminate afterschool activities, jobs and child care they need to provide for their siblings to be able to go to bed earlier and address all of their homework. The way it is now, kids involved in so many activities, work, childcare, excess homework, something has to give. In this area we put so much pressure on these kids so what gives is sleep. They suffer buy outwardly it looks like they’re doing it all.

How do you figure that? They might need to choose between activities, but they don’t need to eliminate everything in order to get homework done and get to bed on time.