Patch users have voted, and most think schools should change start hours to begin later. What are your thoughts?
Montgomery County schools should change schooling hours to start later, according to Patch readers.
Almost 300 Patch readers to responded to a poll asking if they agreed with the Start School Later Initiative’s petition that encourages lawmakers to start school no earlier than 8 a.m. Petitioners say students would be physically and mentally healthier with more time for sleep and rest, while teachers would have more time to prepare lessons.
An overwhelming 88 percent of responders think that Montgomery County students, teachers and parents would benefit from school hour starting later in the morning.
“Without a doubt, a later start to schools is beneficial to everyone, most importantly to the kids,” Patch user Beatriz Fritsch wrote in. “My children have attended school in several countries and they all had later starts (8:45am - 3:30pm). Kids were engaged and awake but still had time for after school activities and sports.”
“I see high school student, after high school student, come to my office with major depression, anxiety, and social problems,” said MCPS parent and adolescent psychologist Mandi Mader. “One of the first things I do is educate the parents and student on the compelling and growing research about [adolescent] sleep needs.”
While more than 200 readers agreed that schools should start later around the county, a little more than 30 responders think no change is needed. Some were concerned that later start times may not leave enough time for extra curricular activities.
“I think school should start later but not too late,” wrote Colleen Gibson. “My son currently starts at 8:40 and ends at 3:30. I do not like the 3:30 time because they do not have much homework time before a sport or other activity.”
“My daughter goes to Good Counsel H.S. and with school getting out at 2:45, play practice doesn't end until 6:30, IB Music ends at 6:00, sports that can't get a gym or field right after school also go late,” said Bill Redmond. “If we move back the start time, then they're up even later than they are now doing homework.”
What do you think about the Start School Later Initiative? Do you think later school times would leave enough room for extra curricular activities? Are hours fine as they are? Tell us in the comments!
Tammy Weber
5:44 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012
I've heard this is beneficial especially to middle school and high school students. Marietta, GA made the change to have elementary school start earlier than the other schools. But my biggest complaint with this district vs. other is the vacation and days off. I would love to see Montgomery county add another week off during the fall or winter (non-peak vacation season). Many other districts across the country including the CT district our new Superintendent came from do this. Even if we lengthen the school day or condense all the misc. half days and days off into one week. I know many students in our school miss a lot of school for family vacation. I am sure most would appreciate being able to travel when it wouldn't be so expensive.
Ethan Ulanow
6:47 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012
I am as student at Winston Churchill High School. Most students wake up two hours before their parents and stay at school longer than adults do at work. Students are always sleeping in class and not focusing on their academic work. Unlike adults, students sit at a desk for almost seven hours with a single lunch break. Students are also always being told what to do as to adults who run their schedule. As for school starting later, that would be psychologically positive on students, teachers and parents alike. MCPS needs to open later and give students more time to live their lives and be social.
Laura L Thornton
7:38 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012
Ethan, I totally sympathize with you. When I was in high school, I routinely spent more time trying to stay awake than actually focusing on paying attention. When I found out that calculus would be held at 7:40 a.m., I thought I would die... I think the hardest four years of my life were high school - college was much easier, in large part because the classes weren't so early.
Terra Ziporyn Snider, Ph.D.
8:19 pm on Monday, March 26, 2012
Has anyone in Montgomery County looked at the history of the current start times? After starting the national petition promoting a rock bottom limit of 8 a.m. (which you can still sign at http://bit.ly/tWa4dS), I asked this question on my local Patch (http://bit.ly/GSVvPv), trying to find out how and when anyone in Anne Arundel County even got the idea of starting school at 7:17 a.m. A hundred years ago, after all, most schools started at 9 and ended at 3, and even 30 years ago very few schools started before 8:30 a.m. It might be revealing for Montgomery County residents to ask this question, too, to find out through community memory just how set in stone current hours might be. Asking this question might also illuminate whether current hours were set with the knowledge we have today about health effects of early hours or with input from the community.
Susan Byrne
11:29 am on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
The early start times were instituted at most schools in the U.S. as a cost cutting measure to reduce the number of buses and transportation cycles required. Schools found this a convenient way to cut a major expense. But we have plenty of hard evidence that it is a significant negative impact on learning. Armed with the enlightened insight, we should demand that our BOE make learning the priority and make every decision support the benefit of our students; set an 8AM minimum start time for all MCPS schools.
Theresa Defino
8:39 pm on Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Susan, aren't you an announced candidate for BOE? Not sure why you wouldn't want to identify that. My recollection is MCPS has looked into changing start times and determined it was too expensive. I don't believe this is a change the BOE can even make on its own.
Sue Shaw
3:09 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Parents who are concerned that later start times will not leave sufficient time for myriad extra curricular activities should examine their priorities and question why it is important for their student to have such a long extended day beyond the big
job of succeeding in the classroom.
Pedsfs
7:59 pm on Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Well said, Sue Shaw!
Terra Ziporyn Snider, Ph.D.
12:21 am on Thursday, March 29, 2012
A delegation from Annapolis-based Start School Later visited the offices of Congressmen Steny Hoyer & Chris Van Hollen today on Capitol Hill and presented them with copies of the national petition (http://bit.ly/tWa4dS) for help promoting legislation to prevent schools from starting before 8 a.m. Whether this limit is ultimately set at the national, state, or local level, or whether there is a better solution to this problem, we need the support of our state and national elected officials to move the issue forward. Calls and emails to Congressmen Hoyer (http://bit.ly/t0LIbz) and Van Hollen (http://1.usa.gov/YfwGX) supporting later school start times would be very helpful, as would additional names on the petition (which we are continuing to deliver to members of Congress and the White House administration in a series of "Wake Up Wednesdays"). Thanks, and for more information see StartSchoolLater.net.