Middle School start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is there a survey??

I think it was sent out weeks ago.

But is was titled Middle School Start Times or something similar, so most elementary and high school families ignored it, thinking it was middle school specific.

Search your email for "middle school"

FCPS was very misleading on this one.

The titles should have said "Changing Start Times for All Grades" or something similar

can you find some additional unique words? I can't find it at all including in my trash. I have 4 kids and a child in each level. I very much want to provide feedback on design E, which is garbage.

Too late.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Or will they just stop doing after-school clubs? I’m curious how important those are to the middle school experience, as my kids are all still in elementary.

After school this week, I saw piles (had to literally step over some, ha) of kids loving finally finding “their people” at D&D club. Drama and music kids rehearsing for the MS musical. Kids painting sets and props for the musical. Community service activities. Tons of kids getting tutoring from their teachers, for free, getting both help and connection. The positive energy was palpable (the musical looks great!). The MS after school program is the heart of middle school.

Yes let’s continue to make kids get up at 5:30 am so they can have this after school program.

Get a grip. E will shift by only 30 minutes and be a win win for all. They can still have their previous after school activities, just half an hour later.

HELLO HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT LATE START ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS??? I don't want my 6 year old getting home from school at 5:10pm. YES, with school ending at 4:45, my kid won't get home until after 5:00pm. How is anyone okay with that?????

Nobody wants that except a handful of crazy loud middle school parents who don't seem to realize that

A) elementary school is 3-4x as many years as middle school

B) high school is twice as long as middle school

C) high school grades matter. Middle school grades don't, not even the ones they take for high school credit (colleges don't care about middle school grades)

D) the late schedule is far too late for High School and far too late for Elementary School

AND

Middle school is only 2 years.

This. ES kids outnumber any group this affects due to being K-6. ES should absolutely not have 7-8 years of a terrible schedule. People don’t realize that ES builds foundational skills and why grades may not matter, they are setting the skills in place for secondary school. You will have an hour and a half of wasted learning time with Option E. Cause the kids are DONE by 3 and the last hour is whack a mole and making sure we all survive.

Please stop speaking as if you speak for all ES families. The option E schedule would work the best for our family. Does it work for anyone else, that is not for any one poster here to say.

I am speaking as a teacher at a late ES. If you surveyed families and teachers I am sure the majority will say E is awful. There will always be exceptions but you saying E is better for ES kids is an exception. I teach and see the kids daily. They are done by 3 and very little learning happens. Does it mean everyone of my students is incapable of learning then? No. But they are also the exception. The MAJORITY of little kids really struggle the last hour of school compared to the morning. Pushing back would be a nightmare.

Just admit it. You keep flying off the handle here and in the other thread for ES’s because you don’t want your work hours changed as an elementary teacher. We see through you.

Oh, that’s hilarious. This whole thread is brimming with parents whining about how the schedule change will affect their own work schedules. As the tweens say, “be so fr right now.”

DP, parent, not a teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

You keep saying this but it’s not true. And you’ll find that out when the school board actually listens to the concerns of all those other parents.

lol. Sure.

Yeah. Hold your breath, PP, OK?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If buses are in that short a supply, get rid of AAP centers and magnet schools.

Your jealousy is noted, but no, not going to happen.

[Anonymous]

FcPS regularly puts disabled children on 1+ hour ling bus rides. 30 min is nothing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FcPS regularly puts disabled children on 1+ hour ling bus rides. 30 min is nothing.

also TJ is a very long bus ride to and from for some kids

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If buses are in that short a supply, get rid of AAP centers and magnet schools.

Your jealousy is noted, but no, not going to happen.

Actually, I do think AAP centers will be going away with boundary adjustment. It was brought up by school board at work session.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

No, it’s a simple question. Why can’t the kid be picked up at kiss n ride?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

No, it’s a simple question. Why can’t the kid be picked up at kiss n ride?

You said on your current schedule, he gets home on the bus (30 min ride time, dismissal 4:15 pm) at 4:45 pm. If his new dismissal time was 4:35 pm, and it’s only a 7 minute ride away, that would get him home with kiss n ride at the same time (actually a bit earlier - 4:42 pm). Now someone obviously meets him at the bus stop currently which is 4:45pm, right? What can’t they someone just drive over to kiss n ride and get him home at 4:42 pm instead on the new schedule?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

No, it’s a simple question. Why can’t the kid be picked up at kiss n ride?

You said on your current schedule, he gets home on the bus (30 min ride time, dismissal 4:15 pm) at 4:45 pm. If his new dismissal time was 4:35 pm, and it’s only a 7 minute ride away, that would get him home with kiss n ride at the same time (actually a bit earlier - 4:42 pm). Now someone obviously meets him at the bus stop currently which is 4:45pm, right? What can’t they someone just drive over to kiss n ride and get him home at 4:42 pm instead on the new schedule?

NP, but kiss and ride isn't a zero minute process.

My son's school gets out at 4:05, his bus drops him off in the neighborhood at 4:45, and then it's a 5 minute walk up the street. If he rides, he gets home at 4:50.

If I pick him up, I can either get there at 4:00 and he enters my car at 4:20 (because the K&R line is so long), we get home at 4:40, or I can get there at 3:20 to be at the front of the line and we'll get home around 4:15. The bus is a 45+ minute child commitment, the car is a 45+ minute parent commitment. (I do pick him up because those 20 minutes in the car are the BEST conversations sometimes, but it's not exactly fast)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If buses are in that short a supply, get rid of AAP centers and magnet schools.

Your jealousy is noted, but no, not going to happen.

Why do people assume that people who say this are jealous. My children are in AAP, we have an AAP class in our school. Most schools do. Your child would still be getting an advanced education if they were in the LLIV classroom at your base school. Literally no one has suggested getting rid of the program, just the Centers themselves OR bussing for the Centers when they are a choice school. My neighbors kids don't get busses for their language immersion program which is a choice, I don't think people should get bussing for AAP Centers when their local school also offers AAP. It's literally the same curriculum.

I get that some schools don't have Local AAP, and in that case, kids should certainly be offered a center, but it's still a choice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

No, it’s a simple question. Why can’t the kid be picked up at kiss n ride?

Let me guess. You're one of those people that goes and sits in the kiss and ride line 30-40 minutes before school even gets out. I don't have time for that and my children enjoy taking the bus home with their friends. The handful of times we've tried kiss and ride, we didn't actually get home that much earlier than the bus did because I had to wait so long in the line.

it's super weird that you're so hung up on this, lady.