Propose your own solution for bell times!

[Anonymous]

It would be great if RideOn had morning discounts for students too.

But I agree that the bus system currently in the county as a whole is just not adequate for getting high school students to school. There are some places it would work, but a lot more places it wouldn't.

How about a hybrid model? Denser areas with access to existing public transit lines receive vouchers (like DC and other urban areas do) to ride the public buses. Areas that are not served use the MCPS buses. The reduction in MCPS bus fleet funds the vouchers and saves money overall. Overtime, this model can shift toward 100% public transit with the build out of additional routes or stay hybrid depending on which is most cost effective.

Of course, this solution is about efficiency and requires the county departments to actually work together rather than protect their little fiefdoms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Personally I'm not that big of all of this talk about changing bell times. Although I don't have any kids in school yet. I'm guessing that this is all based off of some random study that everyone decided to take ahold of and is now a fad or a big thing. In twenty years there will probably be another study that refutes this one.

This is a great example of how if you don't have a clue about the issues or the research, have no real idea about why parents are lobbying, then why wade in? Because person-without-any-kids-in-school-yet, your "guessing" is way off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Personally I'm not that big of all of this talk about changing bell times. Although I don't have any kids in school yet. I'm guessing that this is all based off of some random study that everyone decided to take ahold of and is now a fad or a big thing. In twenty years there will probably be another study that refutes this one.

This is a great example of how if you don't have a clue about the issues or the research, have no real idea about why parents are lobbying, then why wade in? Because person-without-any-kids-in-school-yet, your "guessing" is way off.

Well like others said. The bell times have been in place for at least the last 30 years or so. When I was in high school, I think schools started around 7:30 .

I think the number of people that actually care about this matter is a really small fraction compared to the overall population. They're just the louder group that makes a lot of noise. From what I heard, there were only about 25 people at the sleep in for bell times outside of the Board of Education building earlier in the week. And that's families. So maybe two to three people per family out of that 25.

Yeah if you ask high school students if they want more sleep, of course they'll say yes. But as a whole, I don't think this is as big of an issue or will have as big of an effect as people say or think.

[Anonymous]

This isn't the article that I had in mind but said something similar.

Where according to the link there are studies that show waking up early correlates with success:

http://www.forbes.com/pictures/gglg45gfd/benefits-of-early-risers/

Also not sure if you heard in the news now but cholesterol is good for you now. So it's okay to keep eating up those eggs now until the next study says it's bad again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Elementary first, then middle and high at the same time at 8:30. take advantage of public transportation for high schoolers. Why maintain so many buses?

Or, have parents pay a bus fee and waive it for FARMS families.

Does anyone know why switching HS and ES wasn't put forth as an option? Keeping MS as is, or slightly later than its current time (say 8:00 or 8:05). Can we not "switch" HS and ES just due to the sheer numbers of ES (130+ vs. only 25 HS).

Option 2 had MS starting really late... which was my biggest concern with Option 2. Although, I was willing to accept it as we really need to address the sleep issue in HS.

OP here. It was.

One of the options was ES starts earlier (at 7:45am, which many parents thought was too early), then MS and HS later (not clear which of these would start first, hopefully MS).
I hope we can still keep this concept, but perhaps tweak the times.

A PP's suggestion that high schoolers be expected to use public transport, or schoolbuses at a cost, with waivers for FARMS, is intriguing.

I'm the person quoted asking why an option didn't switch ES and HS.

To the OP. No, Option 2, which was the only option that had ES first, always had MS dead last, either 9:30 or 9:40 depending on the model. My question was meant specially switching ES and HS and leaving MS "as is." Currently, MS is 7:55.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted this suggestion in the previous thread but it seems to be a better fit in this thread:

I'm sure I'm missing something (perhaps something to do with the bus logistics) but I don't understand why they did not vote to have elem. schools start 20 minutes later, middle schools ten minutes earlier (7.45) and high schools 40 minutes later at 8.15. I suggest this even though my child is in middle school and would not be happy about getting to school ten minutes earlier. However, I think it is worth it to get that extra sleep when he is older. I am already starting to notice that his sleep patterns are changing. He is a good kid who goes to bed at 8.30 without any fuss but it is taking him longer to fall asleep and it is getting harder to get him out of bed in the morning and yes we do limit screen time on school night - no screens for a couple of hours before bedtime.

Your middle schooler goes to bed at 8:30?! Amazing.

Yes I know but it takes a lot of effort on my part AND he is very cooperative. He knows the reason why he has an early bedtime so that helps. I try to get him to finish homework by 7 and I am strict about screen time. He can stay up on Friday and Saturday but not later than 10.30. I just don't think this will continue in high school. He will have more homework which means he will on the computer late and that will make it even harder to fall asleep. Plus as I said in my original post, his sleep rhythms are already changing and he is having a tough time falling asleep even though he is in bed with the light off by 8.30.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted this suggestion in the previous thread but it seems to be a better fit in this thread:

I'm sure I'm missing something (perhaps something to do with the bus logistics) but I don't understand why they did not vote to have elem. schools start 20 minutes later, middle schools ten minutes earlier (7.45) and high schools 40 minutes later at 8.15. I suggest this even though my child is in middle school and would not be happy about getting to school ten minutes earlier. However, I think it is worth it to get that extra sleep when he is older. I am already starting to notice that his sleep patterns are changing. He is a good kid who goes to bed at 8.30 without any fuss but it is taking him longer to fall asleep and it is getting harder to get him out of bed in the morning and yes we do limit screen time on school night - no screens for a couple of hours before bedtime.

Your middle schooler goes to bed at 8:30?! Amazing.

My 8th grader goes to bed at 9:30pm. No screens after 8pm and in bed by 9pm. Lights out at 9:30pm. It can be done. It just takes parents that have a set of balls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Personally I'm not that big of all of this talk about changing bell times. Although I don't have any kids in school yet. I'm guessing that this is all based off of some random study that everyone decided to take ahold of and is now a fad or a big thing. In twenty years there will probably be another study that refutes this one.

This is a great example of how if you don't have a clue about the issues or the research, have no real idea about why parents are lobbying, then why wade in? Because person-without-any-kids-in-school-yet, your "guessing" is way off.

Well like others said. The bell times have been in place for at least the last 30 years or so. When I was in high school, I think schools started around 7:30 .

I think the number of people that actually care about this matter is a really small fraction compared to the overall population. They're just the louder group that makes a lot of noise. From what I heard, there were only about 25 people at the sleep in for bell times outside of the Board of Education building earlier in the week. And that's families. So maybe two to three people per family out of that 25.

Yeah if you ask high school students if they want more sleep, of course they'll say yes. But as a whole, I don't think this is as big of an issue or will have as big of an effect as people say or think.

I agree. I think the BOE did the 20 minutes just to get that annoying group to shut the hell up. The problem is the Tier 2 ES parents are going apeshit right now and rightfully so. We are at a Tier 1 and right now my kids gets off the bus at 3:28pm which will be 3:48pm next year. They are looking at 30 minutes later than that. Way too late.

I personally would have been okay with middle school first (it is only 3yrs and they are old but not the oldest with lots of HW) then ES 1 and 2 second and high school last. But how do you do sports after school that late?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I posted this suggestion in the previous thread but it seems to be a better fit in this thread:

I'm sure I'm missing something (perhaps something to do with the bus logistics) but I don't understand why they did not vote to have elem. schools start 20 minutes later, middle schools ten minutes earlier (7.45) and high schools 40 minutes later at 8.15. I suggest this even though my child is in middle school and would not be happy about getting to school ten minutes earlier. However, I think it is worth it to get that extra sleep when he is older. I am already starting to notice that his sleep patterns are changing. He is a good kid who goes to bed at 8.30 without any fuss but it is taking him longer to fall asleep and it is getting harder to get him out of bed in the morning and yes we do limit screen time on school night - no screens for a couple of hours before bedtime.

Your middle schooler goes to bed at 8:30?! Amazing.

My 8th grader goes to bed at 9:30pm. No screens after 8pm and in bed by 9pm. Lights out at 9:30pm. It can be done. It just takes parents that have a set of balls.

7th grader is lights out by 9:30 as well and he has no screen time, too. We're still fighting with him every morning to wake up, eat and get to school. By Friday, he's a tired disaster.

[Anonymous]

7th and 9th graders in bed with lights out at 9 pm. 20 minutes will make no difference to us.

[Anonymous]

What time did the bell schedule run in the 90s? I remember getting out of elementary school and it being light out for a long time.