New school start times survey

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I two more years of ES and three years of MS to think about. With that in mind, I don't like either option.

My ESer is the last kid off the bus and if I remember correctly from last year's documentation, our ES would be a 9:50 start time. A 9:50 start time would get her home between 5:05 and 5:15pm. This would impact her ability to do her sport.

My MSer would prefer an 8:00am start but not at the expense of his little sister, which I think is sweet. He also really likes after school programs, so he doesn't want the MS late start either.

We're basically screwed either way. These options SUCK. I prefer the status quo but that wasn't an option, was it?

Speaking of sports, I want to know if moving HS start times later would impact permitting of fields and gyms at high schools to youth and rec sports organizations. Same with really any of the other fields. If school doesn't get out until 4:40, are permits really starting at 5 now? If HS gets out later and MS gets out later, when can rec basketball or volleyball teams get to the gym?

There's a whole cascade effect on family life outside of school and work with community use - not just sports but scouts and other similar groups also.

absolutely for sure the field and gym permits would be pushed much later.

And yet even if school starts at 9:50, plenty of first and second graders will be getting up to go to morning SACC (or Beyond the Bell soon I guess) after a now even-later sports practice or Cub Scouts meeting on time for their parents to get to work. Yeah, it's first world problems, but FCPS is in the first world.

Are they even paying attention to side effects like that?

[Anonymous]

Did you see they just sent another email about the boundary review meetings and did not mention that new start time scenarios are being presented?!

[Anonymous]

Many after school activities can be before school instead. And the school district's mandate is to provide education for our children in a healthy environment (and healthy start times are backed by research)...not to make sure kids can go to clubs.

I'm incensed with the SB for lots related to the boundary review and programming, but making the start times change is in line with their responsibilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many after school activities can be before school instead. And the school district's mandate is to provide education for our children in a healthy environment (and healthy start times are backed by research)...not to make sure kids can go to clubs.
.

Do you realize that many afterschool activities are run by parent volunteers who are at work or commuting mostly by 8:00am? I couldn't run a morning Girl Scout troop. I don't see how most elementary age sports with volunteer coaches could do it unless everything was compressed to the weekend.

[Anonymous]

Couldn't girl scouts could meet on the weekend?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Couldn't girl scouts could meet on the weekend?

Because no Girl Scouts will also be playing sports games on the weekends?

No families want down time?

[Anonymous]

The point is that while every family has it's own complicated and specific circumstances and preferences, the current discussion about school boundaries and start times is necessarily guided by overarching priorities of the district to have buildings that aren't severely overcrowded and to not have kids going to school at times that science and data say is detrimental to their learning. To think that a district with almost 200K students can worry about clubs, parent volunteers, kids who prefer to get up early, parents whose bosses are inflexible, etc. is a folly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The point is that while every family has it's own complicated and specific circumstances and preferences, the current discussion about school boundaries and start times is necessarily guided by overarching priorities of the district to have buildings that aren't severely overcrowded and to not have kids going to school at times that science and data say is detrimental to their learning. To think that a district with almost 200K students can worry about clubs, parent volunteers, kids who prefer to get up early, parents whose bosses are inflexible, etc. is a folly.

OK but the point is that if the school system redoes start times and impacts all these community organizations, the entire county will feel an impact that isn't just individual families having to rework their schedules. There's lots of "we can do this because this is when the permits always are, these are the rooms we've always had, this is the way it's been for a decade" that will be upended again. I know everyone figured it out when they last moved start times, but what a pain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you for posting the link. I have 2 ES kids and both options are very concerning.

What are you concerned about?

Not the PP, but I can think of a lot of reasons, one being end time of school -- some of us work outside the home and cannot make it to school in time. Maybe aftercare is expensive or hard to get into due to waitlists. Maybe tae kwon do doesn't work for my kid. When my kids were in ES, they were able to get into before care and their bus dropped them off at the end of the day at 4:30, which worked with my schedule. Any changes to an earlier end time would mean trying to get child into aftercare (usually a long waitlist).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many after school activities can be before school instead. And the school district's mandate is to provide education for our children in a healthy environment (and healthy start times are backed by research)...not to make sure kids can go to clubs.

I'm incensed with the SB for lots related to the boundary review and programming, but making the start times change is in line with their responsibilities.

Is there any scientific research backing that the optimal time to teach kindergarten how to read is at 4 pm after their morning activities followed by the day of schooling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many after school activities can be before school instead. And the school district's mandate is to provide education for our children in a healthy environment (and healthy start times are backed by research)...not to make sure kids can go to clubs.

I'm incensed with the SB for lots related to the boundary review and programming, but making the start times change is in line with their responsibilities.

Is there any scientific research backing that the optimal time to teach kindergarten how to read is at 4 pm after their morning activities followed by the day of schooling?

Does any parent who has seen a kindergartener at the end of a long day actually need a study to determine this?

(Yes, I know there are those rare kids who love to sleep in until 10 and do their best work at 6pm even when they're 5, but those kids will struggle with 7:30 am basketball practice, so...)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many after school activities can be before school instead. And the school district's mandate is to provide education for our children in a healthy environment (and healthy start times are backed by research)...not to make sure kids can go to clubs.

I'm incensed with the SB for lots related to the boundary review and programming, but making the start times change is in line with their responsibilities.

Is there any scientific research backing that the optimal time to teach kindergarten how to read is at 4 pm after their morning activities followed by the day of schooling?

Does any parent who has seen a kindergartener at the end of a long day actually need a study to determine this?

(Yes, I know there are those rare kids who love to sleep in until 10 and do their best work at 6pm even when they're 5, but those kids will struggle with 7:30 am basketball practice, so...)

Exactly. So if the goal is to provide education in a healthy environment it has nothing to do with moving start time to 9-50 the goal of that is to save on buses.

[Anonymous]

For ES, it would be helpful if they would say which time your school would be under. I know there was a list somewhere as I recall reviewing it, but the times listed here seem to be a little different than I what I remember.

[Anonymous]

So ES parents need to lobby for start times early enough that MS/HS can all start 8am or later. With buses for all. Is that still possible?

[Anonymous]

Kindergarten should be half day, that's developmentally appropriate.