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FCPS proposal to change school hours
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Anonymous
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I'm surprised this hasn't been discussed yet! What are you opinions on Fairfax County's proposal to change the start and end times of their schools? This is to benefit high schoolers need for a later start time.
http://www.fcps.edu/news/start.htm |
Anonymous
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Thanks for posting that! I hadn't heard about it as we are living overseas right now. Next year, we'll be back, though, and it looks like they would move our school to 7:50-2:30. Frankly, that would better for me. My child goes 8-3:00 now, so it would be similar and it means I probably would only need afterschool childcare, not both.
What do others think? |
Anonymous
| The proposed middle school start time will be 9:20 - 9:40, which will be problematic for many. Also, later high school dismissal will mean youth sports groups will have less access to fields and gyms. We've been told that these community-based youth sports groups and leagues have contributed millions of dollars to help construct turf fields and improve gym conditions over the years and that under the proposed schedule, only certain facilities will be available and only starting at 8:00 p.m. |
Anonymous
| My daughter's elementary school wouldn't dismiss until 4:00 under the proposed plan. Seems like that's awfully late for a youngster to be in school. |
Anonymous
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They been talking about this years - even when I was in high school (that statement probably shows my age!). At the time, it was a matter of the high schoolers (teens) not getting enough sleep with such an early start time. And the elem. school kids (who are up early anyway) having to "wait" around until 9am to start. Then the bus drivers qualled b/c bus routes would be chaotic with all the changes...anyway, at the time (10 years ago) nothing came to fruition.
Anyway, yes, now it looks like it is a "real" topic. There was a public forum meeting about not too long ago where parents, teachers, bus drivers, and the general public had an opportunity to voice their comments. |
Anonymous
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I was initially against the movement of the start times. But upon reflection, I changed my mind.
I think people seem to be put off by the idea of change in general. I've heard from a lot of parents of younger children that they are opposed to the change because elementary school times are going to be later. The truth is, the vast majority of elementary schools would be starting earlier. There are even a few where the time won't change at all. To see what the proposed start/end times are, scroll to the bottom of this page: http://www.fcps.edu/news/start.htm Many of us are currently parents of elementary school student or younger - we might have a different point of view if our kids were older. I think it's worthwhile considering that at some point, all of our kids will be in middle and high school *sigh* and we should consider the issue from the perspective of the parent of an adolescent... There are many studies supporting the notion that the circadian rhythms of adolescents (around ages 11-17) are affected by the biological changes of puberty which makes them fall asleep later and sleep later (if you know a teen, you'll know that's absolutely the case!). Starting school later for these kids addresses a whole host of problems lack of sleep causes - they are more attentive, better behaved and as a result, perform better in school. Some studies link obesity and/or nutritional defecits to insufficient sleep. Further, studies indicate that attendance will increase and tardiness and drop-out rates will decrease. If that doesn't sell you, how about less time after school for your teen to get into mischief, or less chance of them getting into car crashes from falling asleep at the wheel (I actually had a friend this happened to). Let's consider the trade off - that we might have to change our childcare arrangements, or that kids might not have as much time for after school activities (although keep in mind, in most cases, we are only talking about the adjustment of an hour). Here's my two cents: doing what's best for our teen children shouldn't take a backseat to accomodating the routines and restraints created by their parents. Here are a few websites with various views (although I'm sure there are others): sleepinfairfax.org (pro change) wakefairfax.googlepages.com (against the proposed change) |
Anonymous
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If it goes through, our dds in elem school will start at 7:50 and dismiss at 2:30... Only problem is, the earliest I can leave work is 2:30 (and that's with me starting at 6:00 am). There is no way I can then be in two places at the same time. We're on the wait list for SACC after care, and there won't be any high-schoolers that could babysit till I could get home (they'll still be in school).
This change would drastically alter our lives, and not for the better. I hope it does not pass. |
Anonymous
Wow, very few people working day jobs could reasonably be expected to be home from work by 2:30. What time does her school end this year? Perhaps Fairfax County could be encouraged to offer for SACC spaces (or could encoruage them to do so, I guess they are a private company?) in anticipation of this change? |
Anonymous
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13:26 PP here:
Right now, their school day goes from 9:15 to 3:45. DH does the morning routine, and I take the after school times. We are on the wait list for SACC - but #44 or so for next school year. |
Anonymous
| OP here. I've been trying to find out when the school board will vote, but can't seem to find that information...?? |
Anonymous
| So it appears the proposal is not going to be passed: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/09/AR2009030902624.html |