Anyone else object to starting Fairfax County middle schools earlier just to start hs later?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the plan makes perfect sense. High school students have a much heavier work load than m.s. students, they play after school sports, join clubs, get jobs, etc. and need a little more sleep. M.S. children aren't as busy, and middle school is really a stepping stone for high school. I have both a H.S. child and a M.S. child and I am in full support of the changes.

+1000

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm so tired of DCUMers always ignoring the fact that the middle schools inside the beltway start at 6th grade! My 11 year old 6th grader will not be ready to be home alone at 2-2:30!

This is not universal. Which Middle Schools? Longfellow and Cooper are both inside the beltway and both start in the 7th grade.

What determines whether a MS is 7 and 8th or 6th through 8th? Is it how overcrowded the elementary schools are?

[Anonymous]

My 6th grader currently gets 10-11 hrs of sleep per night. She'd have to go to bed earlier than a toddler to get more than 9 hrs sleep. MS is hard enough. Why are we turning kids into sleepwalking zombies?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the plan makes perfect sense. High school students have a much heavier work load than m.s. students, they play after school sports, join clubs, get jobs, etc. and need a little more sleep. M.S. children aren't as busy, and middle school is really a stepping stone for high school. I have both a H.S. child and a M.S. child and I am in full support of the changes.

Actually, middle school kids need more sleep than high school students.

Also, all of you justifications (heavier work load, significant after school activities, jobs) actually support early start times, not later. The time after school is far more valuable for all of those activities.

Can you cite the evidence please?

Plenty of evidence:

"Children aged five to 12 need 10-11 hours of sleep."

http://sleepfoundation.org/sleep-topics/children-and-sleep/page/0%2C2/

"School-aged children At least 10 hours a day" (note that the category "school aged children" includes many middle school students).

http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/howmuch.html

So, if SLEEP is pushing for high school kids to get their utterly necessary recommended amount of sleep, then why aren't they pushing for middle school students to get that same recommended amount of sleep?

Can you smell the hypocrisy?

Middle schoolers are much more likely to be asleep at an earlier time. Less homework, not having a job or competing social interests. Teens may need fewer hours, but they're not getting it. That's the problem. The solution is a later start time.

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-american-academy-of-pediatrics-later-school-start-times-20140825-story.html

From your LA times article: "This research indicates that the average teenager in today's society has difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m..." the AAP statement says.

From Dr. Wahlstroms Feb 2014 Final Report, Table 5: Over 65% of teens reported that their body was telling them to go to bed before 11pm.

Why does the AAP say that the "average teenager" has trouble falling asleep before 11pm, when the clear majority have no such trouble?

Perhaps the evidence isn't as clear as you think it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I applaud Karen Garza for doing what her predecessor could not. Great decision.

+ 1. Our four years at Langley were hell because of the 7:20 start time, which meant in our case, up at 5:30, breakfast, change, walk to bus at 6:20, etc. all in the dark.

[Anonymous]

I think this whole this is a made up farce and I am beyond PISSED that they doing this at the expense of the middle schoolers. What happens with later high school start times... high schoolers will stay up EVEN LATER. HAH!! ...and still be tired at school. And then there will be more whining!!! Gee, let's have parents, ohhhh...PARENT and get their kids to bed at a decent hour while they still live under their roof.

[Anonymous]

I think it's too little change to make much difference for high schoolers, though apparently we'll take anything at this point. And it's not right to set middle schools to start earlier. I hate the kids spending half the school year catching the bus in the dark. Ridiculous.

I had the experience of going to two high schools, one of which started at 7 and one that started at 9. Late start was SO much better. Let's unload half the useless administrators and pay for extra buses. It's all about saving transportation money.

[Anonymous]

opposed to the entire change it is absolutely ridiculous and a waste of money. Those high school students who can't get up at 6:00 will not be able to get up at 7:00 either. Mark my words. The problem is at home not at school. Aprox. $5K to make this change for a minority based on some biased study that Children's hospital was, I am sure, paid a pretty penny for. All I can say for those of you who think it will be better is that in life you need to pick your battle wisely and be careful what you wish for. I don't want to hear your bitching when johnny cant play sports because of late bus times, or work or care for your younger children. Oh the DCUM board is going to light up!!

[Anonymous]

These pampered high schoolers are going to be in fir a rude awakening when they graduate and have their first college class start at 7:30 with no parents to wake them or drive them to class halfway across campus,

[Anonymous]

+ 1. Our four years at Langley were hell because of the 7:20 start time, which meant in our case, up at 5:30, breakfast, change, walk to bus at 6:20, etc. all in the dark.

Then why do you put so much pressure on your school board member to keep you at Langley? Why were you left out of the redistricting for South Lakes? You are much closer to other schools.

[Anonymous]

opposed to the entire change it is absolutely ridiculous and a waste of money. Those high school students who can't get up at 6:00 will not be able to get up at 7:00 either. Mark my words. The problem is at home not at school. Aprox. $5K to make this change for a minority based on some biased study that Children's hospital was, I am sure, paid a pretty penny for. All I can say for those of you who think it will be better is that in life you need to pick your battle wisely and be careful what you wish for. I don't want to hear your bitching when johnny cant play sports because of late bus times, or work or care for your younger children. Oh the DCUM board is going to light up!!

School could start at noon, and they would still want to sleep in.

[Anonymous]

I am for elementary school starting earlier - those kids are awake super early anyway. This whole argument about it being dark is bunk anyway. They need to do away with the whole daylight savings thing anyway. Wouldn't that help too?

Our kids while in middle school, needed as much or more sleep than they appear to need in high school. HS DD is against it and it will mess up her after school activity in a big way. MS DS will only have 1 year of getting up super early but he will be in his growth period of needing the most sleep precisely during that year. Luckily it is only one year but don't know if we'll survive the surliness!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the plan makes perfect sense. High school students have a much heavier work load than m.s. students, they play after school sports, join clubs, get jobs, etc. and need a little more sleep. M.S. children aren't as busy, and middle school is really a stepping stone for high school. I have both a H.S. child and a M.S. child and I am in full support of the changes.

+1000

+2 HS is longer and the stress is greater. Long overdue change.

[Anonymous]

And we are paying lots of our tax %%% for this B*&&s#$it...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These pampered high schoolers are going to be in fir a rude awakening when they graduate and have their first college class start at 7:30 with no parents to wake them or drive them to class halfway across campus,

Where did you go to college? Are you masochistic? My classes all started at 10 or later. I go a BSEE, not a fluff degree, if it matters. And very few jobs start earlier than 8, in central time or eastern time.