Here's the Bell Times Update From the District
Here's the latest from the district website about the bell times/bus arrival times:
"At the March 18 School Board meeting, School Board Directors voted to approve new transportation service standards for the District. The new transportation service standards will take effect September 2009. These changes may impact your family.
Following the March 18 vote, we received additional feedback about these changes from families, principals, and staff. Based on that feedback we will propose a revised schedule that will move up start times for all schools by 10-15 minutes. Making these start/end time changes will ensure that all elementary students are picked up and dropped off during Civil Twilight Hours (the period of time when there is enough ambient light from the sun to carry on outdoor activities). We are working to finalize proposed times and detailed information for each school.
The changes in transportation service standards will reduce ride times for many students, provide more consistency and reliability in schedules, and improve consistency of drivers on each route. These changes mean that Seattle Public Schools will transport the same number of students with 49 fewer buses, saving fuel and reducing the District?s carbon footprint, while also maximizing operational efficiency and reducing transportation costs by $2.2 million.
Next Steps
A motion for the proposed earlier school start times will be introduced to the School Board at its Wednesday, May 20 meeting and they will vote on the motion June 3. New school start/end times will be effective September 2009."
We're saving money and reducing the District's carbon footprint. Great. So people,on the belltimes, is that all clear? You now know the previous timeframes and the new timeframes, right? It's all right there in this information.
C'mon district, throw us a bone. Could you please just tell us a REAL timeframe NOW so that people can plan?
(Update: I forgot but Charlie's post to this thread reminded me that a district staff person told the Board, when questioned by Director Martin-Morris, that he did have a list of schools and new bus arrival/bell times and could get it to the Board. That's what we would ALL like to see.)
"At the March 18 School Board meeting, School Board Directors voted to approve new transportation service standards for the District. The new transportation service standards will take effect September 2009. These changes may impact your family.
Following the March 18 vote, we received additional feedback about these changes from families, principals, and staff. Based on that feedback we will propose a revised schedule that will move up start times for all schools by 10-15 minutes. Making these start/end time changes will ensure that all elementary students are picked up and dropped off during Civil Twilight Hours (the period of time when there is enough ambient light from the sun to carry on outdoor activities). We are working to finalize proposed times and detailed information for each school.
The changes in transportation service standards will reduce ride times for many students, provide more consistency and reliability in schedules, and improve consistency of drivers on each route. These changes mean that Seattle Public Schools will transport the same number of students with 49 fewer buses, saving fuel and reducing the District?s carbon footprint, while also maximizing operational efficiency and reducing transportation costs by $2.2 million.
Next Steps
A motion for the proposed earlier school start times will be introduced to the School Board at its Wednesday, May 20 meeting and they will vote on the motion June 3. New school start/end times will be effective September 2009."
We're saving money and reducing the District's carbon footprint. Great. So people,on the belltimes, is that all clear? You now know the previous timeframes and the new timeframes, right? It's all right there in this information.
C'mon district, throw us a bone. Could you please just tell us a REAL timeframe NOW so that people can plan?
(Update: I forgot but Charlie's post to this thread reminded me that a district staff person told the Board, when questioned by Director Martin-Morris, that he did have a list of schools and new bus arrival/bell times and could get it to the Board. That's what we would ALL like to see.)
Comments
And this, of course, applies to all K-5 students in K-8 schools also, right, their safety being of equal importance, right????
I commented to an AS#1 Site Council that my now kindergartener child will not be coming to school in time for an 8.15am start (new K-8 times)in the new school year, partly because he hardly ever wakes before 7.30am, partly because of the safety issue, partly because this idea is downright crazy and being applied illogically and partly because I'm taking a political stance against a School Board and District that thinks it can do whatever it wants regardless of data and parental/community input...
I was told by a teacher at the site council meeting that my child will miss out on math and reading because that is what she teaches in that first hour - guess I am going to have a fight with the school and the District on my hands about that also... a fight about the legality and morality of penalising children educationally and forcing them to ignore their physiological needs to meet a dubious and inequitably applied financial imperative...
This notice says - once again - that the times will be moved up. I honestly don't know if that means that they will be moved earlier or later and I honestly don't know what was the most recent bus/bell time from the latest variation. So being told that it is being moved ten or fifteen minutes in an unspecified direction from an unknown point doesn't really help me much. Where is the posting of the actual times for actual schools?
I am stumped. (and have a feeling that the transportation office is also.)
Proposed TimesShe says
"This document was sent to the Seattle Council PTSA. It is billed as the proposed bell times for 2009-2010 for the school board's vote in June. The schools that I'm familiar with are closer to the current start times."
High School notes:
Why is Hale 30 minutes minutes later than all the other schools? Won't that really affect after-school sports schedules between schools?
Middle School vs kids in Middle School K-8's:
Do the K-8 middle school kids really get 15 minutes less time at school (in class) than regular middle school kids? 15 minutes less every day for 180 days adds up to 45 hours less time per year? How can that be?
On a side note, I thought that "consistent start/end times" were a major goal of these changes? Are the proposed time ranges (K-5s vary from 9:05-9:25) any different from what they are under the current system?
AND, How does Garfield feel about having basically the same start time as Franklin, Cleveland, RB? My understanding is that Ted Howard believes that keeping all of those kids off of Metro at the same time saves lives, or at least keeps more kids in school.
And if you look at the elementaries - they are still getting out much later than they are this year.
This whole thing makes me crazy.
Someone tell me again - WHERE are the detailed cost saving breakdowns here?
I took a quick look at north cluster k-5s.
School,and have arrenged it thusly:
current start, end time and proposed start/end time.
Adams - 8:55/3:05 proposed:9:15/3:20 - 20 minutes
Loyal Heights -8:50/3:05 prop 9:05/3:10 15 minutes later start 5 minutes later in relase time
Whittier: 9:05/3:10 prop 9:25/3:30
20 minutes each way
West Woodland 9:10/3:20 - prop 9:10/3:15
5 minute difference
North Beach - 9:00/3:05 prop- 9:20/3:25 20 minutes later start,20 minute later release.
This is really odd.
Why are some schools 5 minutes and others 20?
Helen Schinske
Interestingly, NOVA had been exempted from the initial decree but is now included. Not that it makes any difference the way that NOVA schedules its classes. There will continue to be a lot of NOVA students who don't start their school day until 10:30 (or later) on some days and don't finish until 4:30 (or later) on some days.
It's good to see that - despite the changes at the top - the District still makes decisions, enforces rules, and sets requirements based on relationships and internal politics rather than any transparent criteria applied equitably to everyone.