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Fix school start times!
There is no good reason that high school starts each day at 7:28 a.m.
Anyone with teenagers knows how difficult it is to rouse them out of a deep sleep at 6 or 6:30 a.m. That's because their puberty-loaded body clocks have shifted, not letting them fall asleep until 10:30 or 11 p.m., according to the Mayo Clinic. Studies show teenagers need at least eight, and preferably nine or 10 hours of sleep a night.
Obviously, it's impossible for them to be alert and performing at their maximum when they're sleep deprived. But local school districts refuse to change the schedules, citing after-school jobs, extracurricular activities and bus driver complications. Give me a break! What's more important?
Middle school start times around 9:30 a.m. are similarly absurd. Many kids I know, just out of elementary school, have to leave their empty houses and walk themselves to the bus stop because their parents have already left for work.
Can we do something about this? How can we get the school districts to take a serious look at this?
Gretchen Day-Bryant has a son in high school and a daughter in middle school. She’s lived to tell about the struggles of juggling little kids and work...
Joy Oglesby has an infant daughter and a sister 13 years her junior, whom she babies to the now-adult...
Cindy Kent Fort Lauderdale mother of three. Her kids span in ages from teenager to 20s...
Rafael Olmeda and his wife welcomed their first son in Feb. 2009, and he's helping raise two teenage stepdaughters...
Lois Solomon lives in Boca Raton with her husband and three daughters...
Anne Vasquez is the Online Editor in charge of overseeing SunSentinel.com. She is the mother of a 5-year-old boy and a newborn daughter.
Georgia East is the parent of a five-year-old girl, who came into the world weighing 1 pound, 13 ounces...
Brittany Wallman is the mother of Creed, 13, and Lily, 6, and is married...
Chris Tiedje is the Social Media Coordinator, and father of two boys and a girl all under the age of seven.
Comments
This will change when we put responsible parents in charge of schools, not self-centered suckling pigs nursing at the teat of government employment.
Posted by: Jeff | August 27, 2008 11:46 AM
The School Board has actually looked into this several times. Interestingly, the last time I sought input on this, I was very surprised at the reactions I received from both parents and students alike. I proposed swapping the start times, so that elementary schools would start at 7:30, middle schools would start at 8:00 and high schools would start at 9:00 or 9:30 (as middle schools currently do).
Amazingly, almost everyone objected to this proposal. Elementary school parents were not happy at the prospect of their little ones walking to school in the dark (when the time changes in the fall). Middle school parents were very concerned about having the tweens home from school unsupervised for longer periods of time (starting at 8:00 would put them home shortly after 2:00, and most parents work until 5:00). And high school students objected, as it would interfere with work schedules and after school activities! As recently as last year, we asked our student advisor to the Board to seek input on this, and the responses were consistent, the majority of high schoolers, although they don't like to get up early, still preferred the current schedule.
Work hours are also subject to collective bargaining, so we would have to take that into consideration as well.
This is one of those things that sound like a "no brainer" but turned out to be much more complicated when pursued!
Stephanie Arma Kraft
School Board Member, District 4
Posted by: Stephanie Kraft | September 8, 2008 5:11 PM
I have many peeves about broward school, here are a few...
I dont know where those lucky 7th graders are who start at 9am but my son is at first period by 7:30am. His school bus arrives at 6:40pm. Driftwood Middle is obnoxious to request students be alert and awake at that time.. But are they to blame?
Working parents often are the push towards early school times. Wealthier communities with stay at home moms can afford to wait the extra few hours, but for most leaving kids home alone is a bad option. I think the studies showing later times equals better grades should be state law forcing more reasonable start times, but then schools have to pay for optional before care. later start times would also help traffic flows at rush hour. The early start times is a reflection of a school board out of touch with working families, like having no classes on teacher planning days, forcing parents to leave work once a month or pay fr childcare. In other cities, SUBSTITUTE teachers are thee when Teachers need to do training.
Another sore spot- the bus stops are non negotiable. Who pays salaries for the Broward County school bus system and when did they forget it? I called the school and the company several times to change my sons bus stop to be in a place where his walk in the dark (and sometimes rain) wouldnt scare us to death. the bus company hung up on me and gave no good reason not to change it. my request would not have put them out of the way or delayed the next pick up/ drop off. In fact, another school has a pick up where i requested my son be picked up.
how do i fight a company that hangs up on callers?
Posted by: Debra | September 10, 2008 3:42 AM