PG is changing start and dismissal times with less than 6 months notice

[Anonymous]

6 months is plenty of time and pretty normal too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 months is plenty of time and pretty normal too.

6 months sounds ok but Juniors and Seniors already haveto make course selections and plan for Dual Enrollment. DE registration is due next week.....Hard to plan for classes if you don't know when you are going to be dismissed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What PGCPS needs to do (and no one wants to talk about) is eliminate the specialty programs at elementary school level. That eliminates a ton of bussing and the county would have more than enough drivers.

Well that's one idea. I do find an interesting that kids who live close can't get buses but kids who are all over the county and specialty programs can get bussed. So for those of us who live close to school it is on us to get our kids to school (1.5 miles or less) but somehow for kids that are going to specialty programs it's not on them to get their kids to school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:6 months is plenty of time and pretty normal too.

Less than 6. Its April. School starts in August. That's 5 months IF they come out with a decision by mid April.
You also seem to forget that there's a shortage of aftercare. And for those teachers who have children in elementary school that are in daycare they're now going to have to make sure that they're daycare starts at 6:30 or some prior. To get to school by 7:00 if school starts by 7:30 plus commute and drop off. So yeah some people may have to change their daycares or their work schedules you need more than a few months of notice for that stuff. Especially when there is lower hanging fruit to address.

[Anonymous]

My elementary school start time is 9:30 AM (teacher report time 8:30 AM) so a switch to 7:30 AM would be crazy! But I won't deny, as a teacher, I would like to be able to leave work at 2 PM instead of 4 PM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What PGCPS needs to do (and no one wants to talk about) is eliminate the specialty programs at elementary school level. That eliminates a ton of bussing and the county would have more than enough drivers.

I agree. I think it would improve local elementary schools, strengthen local communities, Aad it would also shift more resources to specialty programs in middle and high school and make them stronger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I just read through the audit and there are a lot of recommendations that make sense. One thing that is crazy is that something like 22% of riders are people who live within the walk zone but have waivers.

Big picture is that they have too many schools that start at 7:45 and too few that start at 8:30 and 9:30. It looks like their solution to that is to move all the high schools away from 7:45 to a 9:30 start. In doing that they need to move the rest of the ES to 7:30 if they want uniform start times.
On paper, it make sense but it practice it is a hard sell.

If you are interested, here is a link to the audit. https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/more-transportation-audit-1.pdf

I teach at a PG high school with a 7:45 start time. This would be an amazing change! I wouldn't be surprised to see a pretty dramatic improvement in both grades and absenteeism.

Which shifts absenteeism to elementary school kids based on the research theyve done with schools that start before 745.

I just wish we could have a conversation about no school starting before 8. For all kids. And then find workarounds from there.

You need to include the research here, because all the research I’ve read is that results for moving elementary schools to an earlier schedule are mixed. Elementary schools show only slightly more absenteeism for rural kids but also a gain in math test scores.

In comparison, there’s a huge benefit to later start times for middle and high school wrt absenteeism, test scores, graduation rates.

You could have elementary start at 8. But then there’s be a two hour delay for high school start time and I don’t think anyone other than high schoolers would like to start at 10 am.

[Anonymous]

https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2024/03/pgcps-to-push-standard-start-times-this-fall-to-improve-transportation-efficiency/


The above article has a statement that mirrored information originally on the PGCPS website:

In April, Prince George’s County Public School leaders will formally recommend that all elementary schools start at 7:30 a.m., all middle school and academies at 8:30 a.m., and all high schools start at 9:30 a.m.

but the PGCPS website now doesn't say exactly that. Instead it says:

Start and end times for all PGCPS schools are being streamlined by elementary, Pre-K-8, middle, and high school levels.

90% of schools expected to have no change or a shift of 15 minutes or less.

They have removed the specific detail that all elementary schools will start at 7:30 AM now.

If all ES start at 7:30 next year the "early start" ES won't see much difference - that's about 60% of the ES. But those late starting ES that started after 9 PM ... there are quite a lot of us!

1% ES schools have no change

7:30 John H. Bayne Elementary


64% of ES change 15 minutes only.

7:45 Adelphi Elementary
7:45 Allenwood Elementary
7:45 Ardmore Elementary
7:45 Avalon Elementary
7:45 Barack Obama Elementary
7:45 Barnaby Manor Elementary
7:45 Bond Mill Elementary
7:45 Bradbury Heights Elementary
7:45 Brandywine Elementary
7:45 C. Elizabeth Rieg Regional
7:45 Calverton Elementary
7:45 Cherokee Lane Elementary
7:45 Clinton Grove Elementary
7:45 Columbia Park Elementary
7:45 Cool Spring Elementary
7:45 Cooper Lane Elementary
7:45 Carmody Hills Elementary
7:45 Carole Highlands Elementary
7:45 Carrollton Elementary
7:45 Deerfield Run Elementary
7:45 District Heights Elementary
7:45 Dodge Park Elementary
7:45E dward M. Felegy Elementary
7:45Fo rest Heights Elementary
7:45 Francis Scott Key Elementary
7:45 Francis T. Evans Elementary
7:45 Gaywood Elementary
7:45 Glassmanor Elementary
7:45 Glenn Dale Elementary
7:45 Glenridge Elementary
7:45 High Bridge Elementary
7:45 Hillcrest Heights Elementary
7:45 Hollywood Elementary
7:45 Hyattsville Elementary
7:45 J . Frank Dent Elementary
7:45 James E. Duckworth Regional
7:45 James H. Harrison Elementary
7:45 James McHenry Elementary
7:45 Judge Sylvania W. Woods Elementary
7:45 Kenilworth Elementary
7:45 Kettering Elementary
7:45 Kingsford Elementary
7:45 Lake Arbor Elementary
7:45 Lamont Elementary
7:45 Langley Park-McCormick Elementary
7:45 Laurel Elementary
7:45 Lewisdale Elementary
7:45 Longfields Elementary
7:45 Marlton Elementary
7:45 Mattaponi Elementary
7:45 Melwood Elementary
7:45 Mount Rainier Elementary
7:45 North Forestville Elementary
7:45 Northview Elementary
7:45 Oaklands Elementary
7:45 Panorama Elementary
7:45 Patuxent Elementary
7:45 Perrywood Elementary
7:45 Pointer Ridge Elementary
7:45 Princeton Elementary
7:45 Ridgecrest Elementary
7:45 Robert Frost Elementary
7:45 Rogers Heights Elementary
7:45 Rosa L. Parks Elementary
7:45 Rosaryville Elementary
7:45 Rose Valley Elementary
7:45 Scotchtown Hills Elementary
7:45 Springhill Lake Elementary
7:45 Suitland Elementary
7:45 Tayac Elementary
7:45 Templeton Elementary
7:45 Thomas S. Stone Elementary
7:45 University Park Elementary
7:45 William Beanes Elementary
7:45 William Paca Elementary
7:45 Woodridge Elementary
7:45 Yorktown Elementary

2% of schools will change between 16 and 30 min.

8:00 Chillum Elementary
8:00 Potomac Landing Elementary

9% of schools change 31 min to 60 min

8:15 Beacon Heights Elementary
8:15 Bladensburg Elementary
8:15 Concord Elementary
8:15 Fort Washington Forest Elementary
8:15 Highland Park Elementary
8:15 Indian Queen Elementary
8:15 Mary Harris "Mother" Jones Elementary
8:15 Riverdale Elementary
8:15 Rockledge Elementary
8:15 Tulip Grove Elementary

8:30 Robert R. Gray Elementary


24% of ES change more than an hour, most of which are a 1.5 to 2.0 hour changes

8:35 Port Towns Elementary

8:50 Apple Grove Elementary
8:50 Vansville Elementary
8:50 Waldon Woods Elementary

9:00 Samuel Chase Elementary
9:00 Seat Pleasant Elementary

9:15 Arrowhead Elementary
9:15 Berwyn Heights Elementary
9:15 Catherine T. Reed Elementary
9:15 Doswell E. Brooks Elementary
9:15 Flintstone Elementary
9:15 Fort Foote Elementary
9:15 Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary
9:15 Greenbelt Elementary
9:15 Magnolia Elementary
9:15 Montpelier Elementary
9:15 Oxon Hill Elementary
9:15 Paint Branch Elementary
9:15 Seabrook Elementary
9:15 Valley View Elementary
9:15 Whitehall Elementary
9:15 Woodmore Elementary

9:30 Baden Elementary
9:30 Chapel Forge Early Childhood Center
9:30 Capitol Heights Elementary
9:30 Cora L. Rice Elementary
9:30 Frances Fuchs Early Childhood Center
9:30 James Ryder Randall Elementary
9:30 H. Winship Wheatley Early Childhood Center
9:30 Kenmoor Early Childhood Center

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So, I just read through the audit and there are a lot of recommendations that make sense. One thing that is crazy is that something like 22% of riders are people who live within the walk zone but have waivers.

Big picture is that they have too many schools that start at 7:45 and too few that start at 8:30 and 9:30. It looks like their solution to that is to move all the high schools away from 7:45 to a 9:30 start. In doing that they need to move the rest of the ES to 7:30 if they want uniform start times.
On paper, it make sense but it practice it is a hard sell.

If you are interested, here is a link to the audit. https://wtop.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/more-transportation-audit-1.pdf

I teach at a PG high school with a 7:45 start time. This would be an amazing change! I wouldn't be surprised to see a pretty dramatic improvement in both grades and absenteeism.

Which shifts absenteeism to elementary school kids based on the research theyve done with schools that start before 745.

I just wish we could have a conversation about no school starting before 8. For all kids. And then find workarounds from there.

You need to include the research here, because all the research I’ve read is that results for moving elementary schools to an earlier schedule are mixed. Elementary schools show only slightly more absenteeism for rural kids but also a gain in math test scores.

In comparison, there’s a huge benefit to later start times for middle and high school wrt absenteeism, test scores, graduation rates.

You could have elementary start at 8. But then there’s be a two hour delay for high school start time and I don’t think anyone other than high schoolers would like to start at 10 am.

You dont have to have a 2 hr delay between ES and HS! No other county around us has 2 hours between earliest start and latest start including MoCo, HoCo, AACo its basically 70-90 minutes. Why is that even an issue- is it because of busing? Get rid of specialty program bussing. Make less stops/consolidate stops.

There is no reason on gods green earth small children should be walking to the bus stop or to school in the dark. And they will be. The cutoff for earliest bus time in the audit is 550am and suggests that kids should be dropped off no earlier than 30 minutes before bell time. So if bell time is 730, then kids can start getting dropped off at 7am. How early do you think the bus is getting them?

Lastly, this should be discussed and communicated to parents and staff with an opportunity to comment and discuss.

[Anonymous]

Does anyone know when, in April, this decision is expected to be announced?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know when, in April, this decision is expected to be announced?

I don't think they will make a decision before an open Board meeting. They haven't updated the agendas for the April meetings yet.

[Anonymous]

Superintendent's Letter:
Dear Prince George's County Public Schools Community,

I hope you had a restful Spring Break and are ready to finish this school year strong. Approaching the end of my own first school year as Superintendent of PGCPS, I want to express my gratitude for the warm welcome and invaluable feedback I've received from staff and families thus far.
Early on in my tenure, one issue that consistently rose to the surface was challenges with school bus transportation. It was evident that many of you were frustrated with school buses arriving late, being unpredictable and causing inconvenience.

Your voices were heard loud and clear, and it was clear that change was necessary.

As part of my 90-day plan, we conducted a comprehensive transportation audit to identify opportunities for improvements in operations. The audit yielded several recommendations, and I am pleased to inform you that we are taking immediate action to implement solutions that we believe will have a significant impact.

For the 2024-2025 school year, you can expect to see changes aimed at ensuring the safe, efficient, and punctual transportation of our students to and from school. These changes include adjustments to bus assignments and bus stop locations, as well as the streamlining and standardization of school start and end times.

We will also be introducing an opt-out option for families who do not require transportation services and working to improve customer service — including improved functionality and reliability of the StopFinder app.

We believe that these strategies will lead to a marked improvement in the quality of our school bus service moving forward.

In the coming weeks and months, our team will ensure you are well-informed about forthcoming changes, so that you can plan ahead and prepare to navigate adjustments.

Additionally, I encourage you to be on the lookout for upcoming community information sessions this spring, as well as other opportunities to learn more about the transportation improvements we are implementing.

Regular updates will be shared to keep you informed every step of the way, and more information is available at pgcps.org/bus.

Transportation has long been a pressing issue for Prince George's County Public Schools, and it is our commitment to work towards a long-term solution.

Thank you for your continued partnership as we strive to ensure every child arrives at school on time and ready to learn.

Millard House II
Superintendent

[Anonymous]

FYI- A friend shared an email from the Superintendent that seemed to indicate that the second internet posting with all ES starting at 7:30 etc was incorrect. Hopefully they will clarify soon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:FYI- A friend shared an email from the Superintendent that seemed to indicate that the second internet posting with all ES starting at 7:30 etc was incorrect. Hopefully they will clarify soon.

The email posted above does not nullify a 730 ES start time IMO. It leaves it purposefully vague.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:FYI- A friend shared an email from the Superintendent that seemed to indicate that the second internet posting with all ES starting at 7:30 etc was incorrect. Hopefully they will clarify soon.

The email posted above does not nullify a 730 ES start time IMO. It leaves it purposefully vague.

Yup, very vague. And now the comment that this does not require board approval.

updated news article:

https://wtop.com/prince-georges-county/2024/04/pgcps-to-push-standard-start-times-this-fall-to-improve-transportation-efficiency

Editor’s Note: An earlier version of the story misstated changes to school start times. In addition, the change to three start times is an operational decision that does not require board approval. This story has been corrected.

and

“We are streamlining/standardizing bell times to condense from more than 20 different start and end times to three standard start times of 7:30/8:30/9:30,” a Prince George’s County Public Schools spokeswoman said. “There will be variation, however we will have only the three start times.”

Their communication is just poor. What I *think* they are trying to say is that all schools will start on the half hour now, but start time is not going to depend on age of student. If that's what they mean, they should just say it -- we will likely take your child's school start time, and round it up or down to the nearest half hour. People would likely understand that.

They probably don't know for sure what changes will be made though and don't want to say anything more.