Are You "Bracing" for New Bell Times?
That's what the Huffington Post thinks. Maybe the schools are but it seems quiet on the parent front. Have you talked to your high school kid about this? Is it a smile or a shrug?
Tuesday Open Thread
The speaker list is up for the Board meeting tomorrow; not as packed as I thought with just four people on the waitlist. The majority of the speakers are speaking on high school boundaries (with several wanting to talk about Ballard High). There are only three of us speaking about the Green Dot resolution asking the City to not grant the zoning departures that Green Dot has requested. It's me, long-time watchdog, Chris Jackins, and the head of the Washington State Charter Schools Association, Patrick D'Amelio. (I knew Mr. D'Amelio when he headed the Alliance for Education and Big Brothers and Big Sisters; he's a stand-up guy.)
Comments
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QA Parent
Roosevelt Dad
-lone voice
Where's Dad?
FrustratedMom
As a high school teacher, I was initially opposed, but as the summer has gone on and I have thought about it, I am now in favor of it. Starting an hour later will allow me to get a workout in before school and still get me to school in plenty of time to do any last minute copying or planning or grading. I will still work the same amount of time, it will just be shifted. I am very interested to see how it affects my first period class.
8:30 would've been a much better time. Such huge time swings to benefit some kids, while the rest are negatively impacted, is really short-sighted.
NE mom
If you have true early birds, I encourage them to try it. It can work really really well. Many very successful authors, composers, and other creative types use the same technique. They get up very early (when the world is asleep) and work a certain number of hours (or write a certain number of pages) when they are alert and not distracted. I imagine they also get to see some pretty spectacular sunrises (but alas, being a night owl, I wouldn't know that from experience).
-SPSParent
-HS Parent
Helen
Chris s.
Momof2
- Jet City Mama
Incorrect for our household (and a bad overall generalization on your part)--both full-time working parents but with flexible schedules. Luckily, because we don't have get our kids up at the crack of dawn...well at least we hadn't up until this school year.
NE mom
My DH and I both have flexible jobs but we still need childcare. The reality is that many families don't have that flexibility and with the childcare shortage in the city I suspect its a pretty good percentage.
What is apparent is that a two-tier system would probably make the overwhelming majority of parents happy but SPS can't afford it. Maybe with new McCleary dollars that can happy.
I have said before that I have not heard any discussion of what happens to dollars once they come in. Keep this topic in mind when they do.
It was easier to manipulate schedules with a 3:40 dismissal than it will be with a 2:05 dismissal. I know a lot of families that don't know what they will do.
Melissa, if you look at the list, only 9 elementary schools in the city are keeping their later start time. The rest all have moved to earlier start times, which is a lot of change. No, not all of the schools have the earlier start, but the vast majority do. I've talked with a mix of parents, some like it and some don't. We'll get used to it, but I still think it's short-sighted by the district...like many decisions.
NE mom
SPS Community Alignment Initiative - Terms and Conditions
http://www.seattleschools.org/common/pages/DisplayFile.aspx?itemId=11345418
It is great for families to again get holding the bag when it comes to providing services for the next generation of humans. Some see having kids as an individual decision but in reality reproduction is essential toward advancing society as a whole and it is the collective responsibility of the whole community to provide for its youngest members.
My son needs 11 hours of sleep per night. It's very hard to get that if you need to be at school for a 7:55 am bell time. I am going to have to wake him at 7 am, so that means bed by 8. Not possible on nights when he has practice and home work. Also, he loved to play on the playground before school with friends. For a high energy kid, or all kids, really, the before school supervised recess was essential. Now it will be dark several months a year for the 7:30 am supervised recess. How will that go?
@WS, actually, yes, both my husband and I work FT. No stay at home parent here. We used to be able to drop our son off at 8:15 and make it to work.
I don't like this change at all for my family. I made that known at every single forum and on every single survey the district ever did. SPS even admitted that West Seattle parents didn't want this change. We only have two high schools, and one already starts later. But, it was always a foregone conclusion that SPS was going to do this, IMO.
I think it's going to be a big mess for elem schools. And as a former teacher in two high poverty districts, I can say from experience that it's often the families with the biggest challenges at home that have a hard time getting their kids to school for an early start. I am curious of this will exacerbate tardiness problems for struggling families, and if the district will be paying attention to this.
Not happy at all...
The length of the school day has not changed. There are still the same number of hours for extra curricula, eating, homework, sleeping.
During a student's years in SPS they will still have about half their years with earlier start & half with later start. The scenario that a student would have 13 years in SPS with the same start time was never the case. What has changed is, which of their years will be later starts. It was also never the case that students started at whatever time was best for their family. If so, my kids would have always started at the same time. It is generally harder for struggling families to get their teenagers to school early than to get their elementary kids there early.
I get that daycares, dance classes, & field schedules haven't caught up. That is not the fault of the district. The enrollment increases have contributed to the problem of onsite daycare more than the start time change.
Don't get too comfortable with any future vision of your child's experience in SPS. You'll be lucky to get as much warning of other major changes as there was in this case.
-almost done
HP
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However, it was short-sighted by our district to change these times so drastically for elementary just because of costs. And that is the only reason--bussing costs.
NE mom
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What I meant was the switch to such an early start for elementary is also due to the fact that costs for running busses any other way was too expensive. From what I read and heard, they had to tier the starts this way to bus in shifts, otherwise it cost too much money.
I think it's short-sighted to shift so early for elementary because doing it any other way is too costly for the district--and that is what I learned during the community input time/forums for this change. I'm not meaning it was the only reason, but one big factor in the huge shift of elementary start times was bussing costs.
NE mom