Middle School start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:E looks awesome.

I’m with you. It shifts everybody by only 30 minutes. Elem can deal.

My kid would start school at 9:40 and and get home after 5. My six year old kid. Who gets up at 7 am. This is not okay.

Middle schoolers can deal. It’s only 2 years. They can’t do this to elementary school kids for SIX years of school.

Seven

[Anonymous]

Massive no to option E. Providing a more research-aligned schedule for 2 grade levels at MS while screwing over 7 grade levels at ES.

Absolutely no.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:ES parent here… option E has to be a non-starter. Working little brains after 3 is nonsense

Heck, my old brain barely works after 3.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why would people prefer a 9 am start to a 7:30 am start?

When more people RTO, they will ask to change back to 7:30.

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine many ES teachers would be happy with a school day ending at 4:35.

[Anonymous]

How much is FCPS paying this consultant doing the study?

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

I feel like this initiative needs to start being called something other than “Middle School Start Times.” I’m sure plenty of families aren’t paying attention to it, because they don’t think it pertains to them, but in reality it’s going to affect kids’ schedules at all ages.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:E looks awesome.

I’m with you. It shifts everybody by only 30 minutes. Elem can deal.

My kid would start school at 9:40 and and get home after 5. My six year old kid. Who gets up at 7 am. This is not okay.

Middle schoolers can deal. It’s only 2 years. They can’t do this to elementary school kids for SIX years of school.

It’s like daycare hours - what is the problem? I’m sure schools will adjust. They can throw in another recess time for the little ones at the end of the day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I feel like this initiative needs to start being called something other than “Middle School Start Times.” I’m sure plenty of families aren’t paying attention to it, because they don’t think it pertains to them, but in reality it’s going to affect kids’ schedules at all ages.

I think this is a really important point. Parents don’t understand that this is a revamp of the entire system’s bell schedule.

[Anonymous]

Opt E is the best compromise. Each group shifts a little. Then we get all kids starting at 8am or after. This helps kids get more sleep.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What about the Academic clubs, Mathcounts, science olympiad and language clubs? DS is in MS. He is not a fan of the start time but loves Mathcounts and the D&D club. His friends are doing cooking club, cross country, a science trivia club, and a whole host of other activities. Not every kid does them but a lot do. And the early time home allows for time to do homework and participate in rec sports or other activities.

I am not a fan of a 7:30 start, the 8:00 start would be nice because it wouldn’t impact much. A 9:30 start would be hard to make work. I would guess some clubs might move to a pre-school meeting time which would impact only the kids who were interested in participating. That would diminish social opportunities, which are important for kids, because I doubt that the kids who stay for many clubs would go in early for those activities.

School in the US is more than just what happens in the classroom. I get that is less of a thing in other countries but that is what it is here. It helps kids develop friendships, learn to nivigate the social environment, and provides for fun learning opportunities. I wouldn’t want to lose that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

What about the Academic clubs, Mathcounts, science olympiad and language clubs? DS is in MS. He is not a fan of the start time but loves Mathcounts and the D&D club. His friends are doing cooking club, cross country, a science trivia club, and a whole host of other activities. Not every kid does them but a lot do. And the early time home allows for time to do homework and participate in rec sports or other activities.

I am not a fan of a 7:30 start, the 8:00 start would be nice because it wouldn’t impact much. A 9:30 start would be hard to make work. I would guess some clubs might move to a pre-school meeting time which would impact only the kids who were interested in participating. That would diminish social opportunities, which are important for kids, because I doubt that the kids who stay for many clubs would go in early for those activities.

School in the US is more than just what happens in the classroom. I get that is less of a thing in other countries but that is what it is here. It helps kids develop friendships, learn to nivigate the social environment, and provides for fun learning opportunities. I wouldn’t want to lose that.

Misdle school should not get the 8AM start time. That needs to be kept for high school

Keep high school at 8:00.

Find the best time for elementary.

Give middle school what ever is left over

It is only 2 years.

MS can just deal with it.

[Anonymous]

My elementary kid already starts at 9:20 and with the bus route gets home at 5:00. It’s really not bad at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:E looks awesome.

I’m with you. It shifts everybody by only 30 minutes. Elem can deal.

My kid would start school at 9:40 and and get home after 5. My six year old kid. Who gets up at 7 am. This is not okay.

Middle schoolers can deal. It’s only 2 years. They can’t do this to elementary school kids for SIX years of school.

Seven