Middle School start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well apparently Fairfax County (not school district) is planning to cut after school at middle schools. So now they can go to school til 4:35.

I just came to post this. What a shame. MS kids love these programs and they're well attended. I'm sure it will be a great excuse to roll back MS start times. If they do, I predict a worsening problem with truancy and tardiness. No working parent is waiting around until 9:30 am to make sure their teenager wakes up and leaves the house.

Can you please share a link to where this was posted? I have a child starting middle school next year and we were really hoping the clubs would help with making new friends, etc.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:The ideal, to me, is to leave ES start times where they are and have all middle schools join the high school start time, like the secondary school middle school students do. Of course, this seems in possible in terms of bus availability, bus driver availability, and budget. So, I say just leave it. I have a 9th grader who did fine at an early start middle school (he actually liked the afternoon down time before evening sports started up) and one who will start middle next year. I just don't think it's worth all the upheaval to try to change the middle school start times. Certainly not at the expense of making a ridiculous elementary schedule, which would last for 7 years of a student's life!

Agree. And I have a 7th grader and 9th grader so ES times will not impact us at all, but I still recognize it is ridiculous. Early MS start was/is really hard on my kids, but it is two years. Two years. I'd rather a crappy schedule for two years than 4 or 7!

30 min later isn’t that crappy for anyone.

It is for the elementary students will get home after 5:00pm. The current late start schedule is already really hard on my kids. We bought our house before we had children and it never occurred to me at that time that we should be checking the start and end times for elementary school. I just assumed that kids got out at 3:30 like they seem to do everywhere else in the country, but nope, 4:15, which means my child gets home at 4:45 (we are the last bus stop, which makes it even worse). I mean, great, it works out well for me and my work schedule, but it does NOT work out for my children who are a mess by the time they get home (even my 4th grader who has been doing this for years). Adding a half hour to that will be a disaster.

The latest dismissal time in option E was actually 4:35 pm I believe. No one would go until 4:45 pm.

My kids have a 30 minute ride home. With a 4:35 dismissal, they would be home after 5:00.

maybe they should review your schools boundaries

The school is a 7 minute drive away and we are the last stop in the afternoons. It is what it is. They get picked up 10 minutes before school starts in the morning, so it works out.

Why can’t you just pick up then?

Is there something wrong with you?

No, it’s a simple question. Why can’t the kid be picked up at kiss n ride?

Let me guess. You're one of those people that goes and sits in the kiss and ride line 30-40 minutes before school even gets out. I don't have time for that and my children enjoy taking the bus home with their friends. The handful of times we've tried kiss and ride, we didn't actually get home that much earlier than the bus did because I had to wait so long in the line.

it's super weird that you're so hung up on this, lady.

I’m not hung up on it, but someone had asked me earlier if something was wrong with me for wondering why someone wouldn’t use kiss n ride for pick up. If you want your kid home earlier, that’s just what you do. So stop complaining about a 30 min bus ride and just go pick up your kid if your dismissal time isn’t to your liking, lazy butt. Oh and here’s a tip: if you decide to do kiss n ride, you go at the very end so you are almost last. There’s absolutely no line by then and you’re in and out. No wait time at all.

Hey psychotic bitter freak (see, name calling goes both ways!), you've been going back and forth with me, and I don't think you've done kiss and ride since 1985. In this cute little scenario of yours, the last car in the kiss and ride line reaches the kids 15-20 minutes after dismissal and it's a 7-10 minute ride home. I might not even be beating the bus home at that point. Plus, as I've mentioned several times, my kids like the bus, it's easier for all of us (kids and adults) if they take it. And nobody is meeting the children at the bus stop, by the way, they are perfectly capable of walking half a block to get home.

You are full of excuses. I do kiss n ride every day. I am usually the last one to arrive daily and never have to wait. It’s literally a 7-8 min time from dismissal to when my kid is in my car. If you don’t like the new later time, you have the option of getting your kid at kiss n ride. Or you can let them fester on the bus for 30 min. I really don’t care.

Oooooh, I just figured it out. You're a Navy parent, LOL.

[Anonymous]

The County are cutting all the after school programs? They are so well-attended.
They should cut rec center programming instead. The rec centers are not user friendly and their afterschool programs are not popular
Or well attended. The rec center near us never even has open gym in their courts for kids to play.

[Anonymous]

Someone please post a link to the news about middle school after school programs? Everyone says this is the best part of middle school for their children. What the hell????

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well apparently Fairfax County (not school district) is planning to cut after school at middle schools. So now they can go to school til 4:35.

They are inefficient with respect to buses. They take kids home at regular dismissal, then take kids home after 1st block, then take kids home after 2nd block. How can FCPS afford busses to service our middle school for hours and hours each evening?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Someone please post a link to the news about middle school after school programs? Everyone says this is the best part of middle school for their children. What the hell????

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/budget/advertised-budget-plan

It is under agency reductions. They also planning to nix VIP middle schools camp. There seem to be a lot of cuts to a lot of things!

[Anonymous]

It looks like certain clubs/sports will still happen but funding from the county will not be there so anything the county pays for won’t be available.

[Anonymous]

Here's the text from the Agency Reductions link.

$3.93M savings

This reduction eliminates the Middle School After-School (MSAS) program at
middle schools throughout the County. MSAS program is designed to meet
student needs for a safe, supervised learning environment after the regular school
day. The program is funded by NCS and administered by the Fairfax County
Public Schools. Programming is provided five days week and runs from the end
of day school bell until 4:30pm. Late bus transportation is provided by FCPS four
days per week. FCPS has been expanding its offering of after-school programs,
including clubs, activities and school sports, outside of MSAS program that could
offer viable alternatives for teens to participate in structured and safe activities.
This reduction also includes eliminating the funding provided for expanded parent
liaison hours as well as funding supporting the MentorWorks initiative. FCPS will
need to identify resources if they wish to continue the MSAS program or these
other initiatives in the current form.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well apparently Fairfax County (not school district) is planning to cut after school at middle schools. So now they can go to school til 4:35.

They are inefficient with respect to buses. They take kids home at regular dismissal, then take kids home after 1st block, then take kids home after 2nd block. How can FCPS afford busses to service our middle school for hours and hours each evening?

No, they only take kids home at regular dismissal and after the second block.

[Anonymous]

So the county is hoping to foist the cost of after school programs on to the schools?

[Anonymous]

The only fcps run after achool activity is running.

Every other activity is county-funded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only fcps run after achool activity is running.

Every other activity is county-funded.

I’m not following you. FCPS is the county. All of this is now in jeopardy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone please post a link to the news about middle school after school programs? Everyone says this is the best part of middle school for their children. What the hell????

https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/budget/advertised-budget-plan

It is under agency reductions. They also planning to nix VIP middle schools camp. There seem to be a lot of cuts to a lot of things!

Not middle school related but cutting things like civilian crossing guards at high schools, the car seat installation inspections that were supported by police. A LOT of cuts to fire houses- getting rid of more senior positions, inspection of hoses by outside contractors…

[Anonymous]

Option E looks quite good.

[Anonymous]

Screw the kids but at least McKay has a nice new car.

https://wjla.com/news/local/fairfax-county-board-of-supervisors-chairman-jeff-mckay-virginia-upgrade-county-car-nissan-leaf-electric-vehicle-40-percent-raise-taxpayers-elections