Petition: Later MCPS school start times

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

For the kids in no activities/uninvolved parents, the kids can come home and nap or go to bed earlier. Or, parents can drive them to school given how early school starts or hire a driver so the kids can sleep in more. Or, go to your home school so they don't have a long commute. Lots of options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

For the kids in no activities/uninvolved parents, the kids can come home and nap or go to bed earlier. Or, parents can drive them to school given how early school starts or hire a driver so the kids can sleep in more. Or, go to your home school so they don't have a long commute. Lots of options.

Those are all great suggestions. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

For the kids in no activities/uninvolved parents, the kids can come home and nap or go to bed earlier. Or, parents can drive them to school given how early school starts or hire a driver so the kids can sleep in more. Or, go to your home school so they don't have a long commute. Lots of options.

So nice of you to offer to drive kids. Tell that to the families who need for older siblings to watch younger ones. Do you want them to also use their paycheck to paycheck on hiring a driver?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

For the kids in no activities/uninvolved parents, the kids can come home and nap or go to bed earlier. Or, parents can drive them to school given how early school starts or hire a driver so the kids can sleep in more. Or, go to your home school so they don't have a long commute. Lots of options.

So nice of you to offer to drive kids. Tell that to the families who need for older siblings to watch younger ones. Do you want them to also use their paycheck to paycheck on hiring a driver?

Happy to help those families. It’s the ones who could and just dump their kids on others. The poster here clearly has enough time to post here can clearly find the time to drop off their kid before work.

[Anonymous]

Lack of sleep is a real issue. Please sign this petition!
-dr working with this population

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lack of sleep is a real issue. Please sign this petition!
-dr working with this population

+1, same

[Anonymous]

The BOE addressed this already ant the 3/19 Board Business Meeting and it’s not happening. Give it up.

[Anonymous]

oh ok. it's an excellent idea though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

Nobody asked you! This is about how it impacts MY kids. They like to stay up late so I feel the county should help me out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The BOE addressed this already ant the 3/19 Board Business Meeting and it’s not happening. Give it up.

People have explained this over and over for years. My kid hates getting up early too but there's a bigger picture. It's too bad that's lost on so many.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:oh ok. it's an excellent idea though.

Not really. Loudoun County Public Schools shifted to later start times for high schoolers and earlier start times for elementary now has many parents complaining.

SOURCE: https://wtop.com/loudoun-county/2024/03/some-loudoun-co-parents-concerned-by-earlier-elementary-school-start-times-board-member-says/

In 2022, the school district announced plans to have some elementary schools start at 7:30 a.m. and others start at 8 a.m. Some middle schools were slated to start at 8:30 a.m., and others at 8:50 a.m. Most high schools had their start times shifted 15 minutes later.

Some parents, Shernoff said, are expressing concerns about the earlier starts.

“Just saying, this is my day-to-day life, and it’s really a struggle. My kids are miserable. Getting up in the morning, they’re tired. They don’t want to eat breakfast, because it’s so early. It’s pitch black at the bus stop,” Shernoff said.

The change to an earlier start time, Shernoff said, was only done for about half of elementary schools in the county. So, different elementary schoolers in the school division have different schedules.

“Now you have an equity issue, where some schools are on a different schedule for the same-aged kid,” Shernoff said.

The changes were made, Shernoff said, because of the bus driver shortage that came in the aftermath of the pandemic. The county was also trying to minimize second loads, when a driver has to make several trips to and from a school to get all of the students home.

Students not getting enough sleep or not eating breakfast, she said, factor into other concerns.

“Are they tardy more? Are they not getting to school on time, which has also been a concern in Loudoun?” Shernoff said.

Most of the concerns are coming from elementary school families, Shernoff said, but some high school parents have expressed frustration that their school day ends after 4 p.m., making it harder for students to get jobs on top of school work.

There is no pleasing everyone when it comes to this topic. Just pick which tradeoffs you're willing to live with.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have no personal stake in this, as my own kids have aged out of k-12 education, but I strongly believe that schools should start later in accordance with extensive and uncontroversial research showing the health benefits. The benefits are indisputable; it's just the costs and logistics that are a problem.

I would also point out that this country's obesity epidemic started in the 1980s, just after many (maybe most) public school districts adopted staggered school schedules to allow a single fleet of buses to provide transportation to elementary, middle (or junior high back then), and high school and as suburban sprawl lead to fewer kids walking or biking to school. In the late 1960s, 50% of children walked to school, and school started after 8 a.m. In 2019, my own kids in a neighboring district to MSPS could not walk to school (high school is eight miles away) and caught the high school bus at 6:35 a.m. to be transported to school by 7:00 am and then wait around outside until school started at 7:25 a.m., so that the buses could start their middle school run. There's no part of that arrangement that serves kids' best interests. It's unhealthy, inefficient, and setting them up to struggle.

You are lucky you got buses. We have to drive ours almost two miles. The obesity is a combination of genetics, lack of sports and exercise and eating habits. Later start time cannot fix that. If kids are not in sports parents can take kids before or after school you a walk or bike ride or work out.

You clearly did not have kids in mcps if you think a single fleet of buses would work and since you said your kids were never in mcps why are you posting here?

If you did not like your kids getting to school that early you could have driven them like we do. Why were you too lazy to walk with them or drive them?

Go away, troll. Why am I posting? Because I think kids' health is important. You should care too. Also, my kids are athletes and not obese, but that doesn't stop me from advocating for conditions to set as many kids as possible up for academic success and good health. Maybe you should try caring about others and not just your own family's needs.

For academic and personal success, school times are better earlier so kids can do activities and work after school and still fit in homework. If you are worried about obesity sports are important and that means an earlier start.

If school start times were later, the length of the school day and sporting events wouldn’t change. The number of hours in a day wouldn’t change. The only thing that would change is to schedule these things optimally for teens’ circadian rhythms, which would help the majority of students increase their sleep. If you believe parental enforcement of a sleep regimen is so easy, take comfort in the knowledge that you can parent your children through such a scheduling change. Easy peasy.

If we have sports 45 minutes after school they will have to get pushed back due to transportation and what time kids are out of school which means they get home later or in our case then to another activity back at school and then homework. So, your kids are in no activities and you will not drive them. So, they can manage with what the school has to offer or you can homeschool them.

We are in the same boat. Our kids have sports, work, and homework in the afternoons and evenings. Pushing school back will simply mean they are up even later doing homework, and then likely up early in order to finish. As for sleep, a later schedule won’t fix a thing.

And I still think the answer is taking devices away at night.

Worked for us! :D

[Anonymous]

I’m impressed that this thread is still active. I’m a HS teacher and on the side of a later start. I wish I could invite y’all to my first period class. My heart goes out to my tired and sleep deprived students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m impressed that this thread is still active. I’m a HS teacher and on the side of a later start. I wish I could invite y’all to my first period class. My heart goes out to my tired and sleep deprived students.

I'm guessing the tired sleepy K-5 students would feel similarly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m impressed that this thread is still active. I’m a HS teacher and on the side of a later start. I wish I could invite y’all to my first period class. My heart goes out to my tired and sleep deprived students.

I'm guessing the tired sleepy K-5 students would feel similarly.

My elementary kid naturally wakes up at sunrise. High school kids sleep in later.