Healthy school start time

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that HS students don’t have to take 7 classes a year every year. My kid’s counselor said most 11th and 12th graders are just in the building right before and after lunch for the required math and English classes.

So if a 7:45 start doesn’t work for your kid, take less classes during the school day. Take classes over the summer, online during the school year, and dual enrollment at MC

Arriving later in the day is not allowed. If you request an abbreviated scheduled, counselors will make your 1-2 classes first thing in the day.

A few years ago, a neighbor kid had a unique opportunity for an internship that was 6:30-10:30 AM. He only needed English and one other class to graduate. The high school wouldn’t schedule him for afternoon only classes. His parents appealed because of the opportunity and lost.

Maybe it’s school dependent. Talk to the counselors at Einstein. School is the most crowded the period before and after lunch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

If kids want to goof off, its not just their phones. We restrict phones and not just at 10 PM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Keep in mind that HS students don’t have to take 7 classes a year every year. My kid’s counselor said most 11th and 12th graders are just in the building right before and after lunch for the required math and English classes.

So if a 7:45 start doesn’t work for your kid, take less classes during the school day. Take classes over the summer, online during the school year, and dual enrollment at MC

Arriving later in the day is not allowed. If you request an abbreviated scheduled, counselors will make your 1-2 classes first thing in the day.

A few years ago, a neighbor kid had a unique opportunity for an internship that was 6:30-10:30 AM. He only needed English and one other class to graduate. The high school wouldn’t schedule him for afternoon only classes. His parents appealed because of the opportunity and lost.

It depends on the school. You have to go to Central Office and make a stink. If you plan right starting in MS, your kids should only need math and english for graduation senior year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

Here is that high and mighty "adult" who does not understand science. Plenty of kids do not have access to screens after a certain time and their parents know how to parent. Move on this discussion does not concern you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of us don’t want that. Enforce bedtime. Starting later means kids go to bed later so it fixes nothing.

You do realize this has nothing to do with “enforc[ing] bedtime,” right?

Ignorant people gonna ignore. They don't care about scientific truth or education, just need to get the kids out on the way to wor.

Bingo

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The comments about "Oh, no, we can't do this" in 2014 were intense.

The 20-minute push wasn't great, but at least it was a start for the HS & MS kids. It totally sucks for the ES kids, though.

Why?

Can't they swap ES and HS start times?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This subject is brought up every year. The schedule never changes. Move on.

If the 2014 group had said the same thing, they would've never been able to make it happen. If you don't care to make the change, you move on.

The 2014 group was trying to get the start time moved to substantially later, and after a comprehensive study that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, only managed to move it 20 minutes.

I would not support reopening this question unless someone can explain what has changed since the last time MCPS tackled this issue. If there has been a material change in the situation, let's evaluate. But if all of the factors are functionally the same, it's not worth the money.

This is the perfect time to return to this conversation. We’re about to change boundaries, grading policy, and special programs. Under the new plan, bus rides to special programs will be shorter. We don’t know yet how bus ridership will change with new boundaries. Once these changes are rolled out, we ought to find out if the priorities of MCPS’s stakeholders have changed. Enough years will have passed since the last study that MCPS largely won’t be serving the same families. The old data will be obsolete. That doesn’t mean that the results of a new study would be different, but enough things will have changed that the old study won’t be relevant.

The 2014 study had different options and their costs. The main problem to overcome is how the busses are used for HS, then MS, then ES runs. The idea that I thought most feasible was to have HS start when MS does, but that required purchasing and maintaining more busses and associated staffing.

I think there may be some bus route efficiency improvements with the region idea, but that alone won’t free up enough busses to cover MS/HS at the same time. I would like to see the county improve the public bus routes to align better with school system needs especially in the denser areas of the county. Maybe run new “circulator” routes connecting MS and HS in each region, concentrated around 6-9am, 11-1p, 3-6pm. Plan to move both commuting adults and students more efficiently. It may be possible to free up enough school busses in some areas to shift them to double up in other areas to get a change in start times. It’s worth advocating for.

Yes, RideOn busses! Some of the routes have very few county passangers. Use those busses to circulate in more areas of the county. If only MCPS is willing to collaborate with RideOn and worked together with the MoCo Council

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Elementary should start earliest, ideally. They're the ones up at 6am.

Yep! And should be sleeping earliest too. Their parents need to get into work by 7:30 - 9:30a yet students until nine years of age need to be supervised so parents can drop off before work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Have you not heard of Sandra Landis?

Will she start a petition? Or organize to present to BOE?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Have you not heard of Sandra Landis?

Will she start a petition? Or organize to present to BOE?

She has done all of that and more. Look her up and get in contact.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The comments about "Oh, no, we can't do this" in 2014 were intense.

The 20-minute push wasn't great, but at least it was a start for the HS & MS kids. It totally sucks for the ES kids, though.

Why?

Can't they swap ES and HS start times?

Because kids have homework, jobs, activities, sports, chores after school so if you flip it kids have to do those things before school and will wake up even earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This subject is brought up every year. The schedule never changes. Move on.

If the 2014 group had said the same thing, they would've never been able to make it happen. If you don't care to make the change, you move on.

The 2014 group was trying to get the start time moved to substantially later, and after a comprehensive study that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, only managed to move it 20 minutes.

I would not support reopening this question unless someone can explain what has changed since the last time MCPS tackled this issue. If there has been a material change in the situation, let's evaluate. But if all of the factors are functionally the same, it's not worth the money.

This is the perfect time to return to this conversation. We’re about to change boundaries, grading policy, and special programs. Under the new plan, bus rides to special programs will be shorter. We don’t know yet how bus ridership will change with new boundaries. Once these changes are rolled out, we ought to find out if the priorities of MCPS’s stakeholders have changed. Enough years will have passed since the last study that MCPS largely won’t be serving the same families. The old data will be obsolete. That doesn’t mean that the results of a new study would be different, but enough things will have changed that the old study won’t be relevant.

The 2014 study had different options and their costs. The main problem to overcome is how the busses are used for HS, then MS, then ES runs. The idea that I thought most feasible was to have HS start when MS does, but that required purchasing and maintaining more busses and associated staffing.

I think there may be some bus route efficiency improvements with the region idea, but that alone won’t free up enough busses to cover MS/HS at the same time. I would like to see the county improve the public bus routes to align better with school system needs especially in the denser areas of the county. Maybe run new “circulator” routes connecting MS and HS in each region, concentrated around 6-9am, 11-1p, 3-6pm. Plan to move both commuting adults and students more efficiently. It may be possible to free up enough school busses in some areas to shift them to double up in other areas to get a change in start times. It’s worth advocating for.

Yes, RideOn busses! Some of the routes have very few county passangers. Use those busses to circulate in more areas of the county. If only MCPS is willing to collaborate with RideOn and worked together with the MoCo Council

Not all ride on buses go to all neighborhoods and directly to schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

Here is that high and mighty "adult" who does not understand science. Plenty of kids do not have access to screens after a certain time and their parents know how to parent. Move on this discussion does not concern you.

This has nothing to do with science. You can always make up or find a study to support your beliefs. Stop inconviencing others because you cannot get your kids to bed on time or go private with a later start time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those phones you pay for—set screen time limits so their phone stops working at 10pm. Your kids will go to bed sooner, I promise. It works.

Here is that high and mighty "adult" who does not understand science. Plenty of kids do not have access to screens after a certain time and their parents know how to parent. Move on this discussion does not concern you.

This has nothing to do with science. You can always make up or find a study to support your beliefs. Stop inconviencing others because you cannot get your kids to bed on time or go private with a later start time.

You talk about sleep science the same way climate change deniers talk about climate change science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The comments about "Oh, no, we can't do this" in 2014 were intense.

The 20-minute push wasn't great, but at least it was a start for the HS & MS kids. It totally sucks for the ES kids, though.

Why?

Can't they swap ES and HS start times?

The 2014 "push everything back 20 minutes" approach resulted in some of the ESs in MCPS starting at 9:35 AM.

As others have said, ES kids are up at the crack of dawn. Ideally, they'd start first and definitely not after 9:30 AM. It also means they dismiss later and some the youngest ones have fallen asleep on the afternoon bus.

No, the school system "can't swap" those start times. MCPS BOE wasn't agreeable to that in 2014.