Middle school start time: Time for a change
Our middle school principal robocalled all the school's families last week. She reminded us that there is no campus supervision for kids who arrive before 9 a.m. for the 9:30 school start. Kids who arrive at 8:30 a.m. have to go to the school courtyard or she said they may get a detention.
So clearly there is a problem with kids being dropped off early by their parents. The problem is obvious: Middle school starts ridiculously late, especially for working parents who start work at 8 or 8:30 a.m. and need to drop off their kids on the way.
School start times at all levels are screwed up in so many ways, but this is another example of why the whole system needs to be re-evaluated. So many studies have proven that the 7:30 a.m. high school start is too early for teenagers who need more sleep to properly function. And this problem at our middle school is likely going on throughout South Florida, where there is not enough staff to supervise an energetic group of pre-teens who are primed for the day.
How about it, administrators? Take a new look at school start times, for the benefit not only of kids but their whole families.
Photo: Shauna Bittle/Chicago Tribune
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