Elementary parents, pay attention to start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids need a break between school and after school activities. It's already a very short break for late start ES schools. Getting them home at 5:00 and going straight to activities without a break is a nightmare at any age.

ANY AGE. No kids should get home at 5pm. NONE.

But this is what the middle schoolers do! They go to school from 7-2pm and then go immediately to their clubs—no break, no dinner, no home, and then they either attend 1 or 2 clubs back to back before any break or food.

And that's a good thing? No breaks or time to be a kid? Man, kids are so overscheduled.

Also, middle schoolers aren't 7!! They can handle it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Option E reads as 9-3:45 or 9:50-4:35pm. Both are part of the ES solution. It’s not all ES gets a 9:50 start.

Ok ok, so only half of the elementary schools get screwed. In that case, carry on!

Well, that does impact less overall. Excellent point!

There are more than 140 elementary schools in FCPS!

I have been teaching for 25 years. I teach at an ES that currently starts at 9:20. Students in pre-K through 2nd are exhausted by 3. This change would put our school at the latest time. These kids would have this developmentally inappropriate schedule for 7-8 years! Kids getting home at dinner time and being at home or daycare in the AM when they are most ready to learn is not in the best interest of elementary—aged students.

Attention working parents who put your 7-8 year old kids in after school programs so you can pay for their clothes, home and food: according to above poster, you are awful and should quit so you are home by 3 for your kids or your are developmentally hurting them. Shame on all working parents that keep their kids out of the house until after 6. So selfish to try to make a living when should just be home with no job. Amazing any of those harmed kids have survived at all let alone get into college.

Are you always so absurdly melodramatic, or only on DCUM?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids need a break between school and after school activities. It's already a very short break for late start ES schools. Getting them home at 5:00 and going straight to activities without a break is a nightmare at any age.

ANY AGE. No kids should get home at 5pm. NONE.

But this is what the middle schoolers do! They go to school from 7-2pm and then go immediately to their clubs—no break, no dinner, no home, and then they either attend 1 or 2 clubs back to back before any break or food.

And that's a good thing? No breaks or time to be a kid? Man, kids are so overscheduled.

Also, middle schoolers aren't 7!! They can handle it

Just because they can doesn't make it a good idea.

[Anonymous]

Our ES starts at 8:50am. We would gladly take a later start time. No rises early in our household. Bring on the later start times. Sounds great!👍

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All kids need a break between school and after school activities. It's already a very short break for late start ES schools. Getting them home at 5:00 and going straight to activities without a break is a nightmare at any age.

ANY AGE. No kids should get home at 5pm. NONE.

But this is what the middle schoolers do! They go to school from 7-2pm and then go immediately to their clubs—no break, no dinner, no home, and then they either attend 1 or 2 clubs back to back before any break or food.

And that's a good thing? No breaks or time to be a kid? Man, kids are so overscheduled.

The kids are exhausted. They should have an earlier and more age appropriate start to their morning. They are setting alarms at 5:30am for their school day. They need and deserve the 8am start time.

The high schoolers?

Definitely.

Some of them are at school until 10 or 1q PM

They definitely need to keep the 8AM start time.

If not the high schoolers, then the 7 to 8 years of elementary school.

The 9:45 start will be perfect for middle schoolers.

They can sleep late, then be in school learning until around 4:30 PM, home around 5:00 PM.

It will keep them supervised in the afternoon and keep them from creating havoc at the local ahopping areas between 2:45-4:30 when they are running around and harrassing paying customers.

Giving MS the latest start time is perfect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just an observation. This thread has not been up for full 12 hours and almost as many posts as the MS thread that started 4 days ago. Did ES families really not read all the announcements about school times, because that it impacts ES is not new.

The announcements were all framed as only about middle schools.

High school parents didn't read them either.

FCPS sends up to 5 or 6 emails per day.

You have to read the titles and filter what looks relevant and important.

A parent of a 1st grader is not going to pay attention to emails called "Middle School start times"

[Anonymous]

Elementary parents, call or email your school board reps.

They have only heard from middle school pqrents so far.

[Anonymous]

This is the link to the page with the information.

No where does it say Changing Elementary start times or Changing High School start times.

Everything is written in a way that makes it seem only middle school times will change, or that the school board is even considering impacts to elementary or high school.

The process has been completely misleading because the entire schedule will be impacted, especially Elementary School.

https://www.fcps.edu/considering-change-middle-school-start-times-school-year-2025-26

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our ES starts at 8:50am. We would gladly take a later start time. No rises early in our household. Bring on the later start times. Sounds great!👍

+1

[Anonymous]

Community Engagement will be in April and May.


Community Engagement
This spring, the public is invited to attend a community forum to learn more and share feedback. Four community forums will take place in April and May. Prismatic Services, Inc., an educational consulting firm, will lead the forums. All forums will deliver the same presentation and provide the same feedback opportunities. Please attend the event that best suits your schedule. Registration is not required, but does help us plan. Language interpretation and childcare will be provided.

April 29, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Glasgow Middle School,
May 6, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Whitman Middle School
May 13, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Online Session -
May 20, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Hughes Middle School
May 22, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Frost Middle School

https://www.fcps.edu/considering-change-middle-school-start-times-school-year-2025-26

[Anonymous]

Elementary parents start educating yourselves and contacting your school board reps.

With return to work, this change will impact your already tenuous childcare arrangements, starting in Fall 2025 according to the FCPS information page.

List of School Board Members:

https://www.fcps.edu/about-fcps/leadership/school-board/school-board-members

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just an observation. This thread has not been up for full 12 hours and almost as many posts as the MS thread that started 4 days ago. Did ES families really not read all the announcements about school times, because that it impacts ES is not new.

The announcements were all framed as only about middle schools.

High school parents didn't read them either.

FCPS sends up to 5 or 6 emails per day.

You have to read the titles and filter what looks relevant and important.

A parent of a 1st grader is not going to pay attention to emails called "Middle School start times"

I guess I just made leap on my own they no way could they change MS without changing other times since that is what happened before. Wonder if fCPS will say “too late” if the ES parents come to voice opinions as they are at end of their study and decision period v at start. Cannot see a version where they pay all this study $ and do no change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. Just an observation. This thread has not been up for full 12 hours and almost as many posts as the MS thread that started 4 days ago. Did ES families really not read all the announcements about school times, because that it impacts ES is not new.

The announcements were all framed as only about middle schools.

High school parents didn't read them either.

FCPS sends up to 5 or 6 emails per day.

You have to read the titles and filter what looks relevant and important.

A parent of a 1st grader is not going to pay attention to emails called "Middle School start times"

I guess I just made leap on my own they no way could they change MS without changing other times since that is what happened before. Wonder if fCPS will say “too late” if the ES parents come to voice opinions as they are at end of their study and decision period v at start. Cannot see a version where they pay all this study $ and do no change.

Perhaps.

But if the elementary parents make enough noise, maybe they will put Middle school in the last slot, and either do HS - ES - MS or ES - HS - MS which starts MS later but gives 11 out of 13 grades a decsnt schedule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Community Engagement will be in April and May.


Community Engagement
This spring, the public is invited to attend a community forum to learn more and share feedback. Four community forums will take place in April and May. Prismatic Services, Inc., an educational consulting firm, will lead the forums. All forums will deliver the same presentation and provide the same feedback opportunities. Please attend the event that best suits your schedule. Registration is not required, but does help us plan. Language interpretation and childcare will be provided.

April 29, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Glasgow Middle School,
May 6, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Whitman Middle School
May 13, 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Online Session -
May 20, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Hughes Middle School
May 22, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. Frost Middle School

https://www.fcps.edu/considering-change-middle-school-start-times-school-year-2025-26

Those were actually the meeting times from last spring, 2024 when they held the meetings. There are no more meetings.

[Anonymous]

This has been discussed for 10 years. Time to act!