The School Department Calendar Committee is looking into having the High School and Middle School school day begin, and end, later than it does now.

At their most recent meeting, the committee drafted a preliminary recommendation to have the High School day run from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; and the Middle School day from 8:25 a.m.-2:55 p.m. Pond Cove students would begin their day at 8 a.m. and go until 2:30 p.m.

The recommendation is based on studies and evidence that teenagers learn better when their school day starts later.

Trish Brigham, School Board representative to the calendar committee, said officials have long considered the role that a teenager's internal clock has on their education. In fact, "there was an article in the New York Times that showed how student performance on tests improved significantly with a later start time," Brigham said in a telephone interview.

The committee also has first-hand evidence, from partner schools and from staff who have worked in other parts of the country, that a later start to the school day means better learning for teenage students.

Currently Cape Elizabeth High School students begin their day at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. Middle-schoolers begin at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2:20 p.m.

"Originally we talked about putting the High School on the same schedule as the Middle School, but the High School's stand point was, and the Middle School agreed, that 15 minutes doesn't make much of a difference," Brigham said.

The draft proposal to push start times back for high-school and middle-school students has an added advantage of combining bus runs. The committee's thinking, as it stands now, combines the little-used High School bus runs with the Middle School runs, which should result in fuel savings and other efficiencies.

"I do have to emphasize that our work is not finished yet," Brigham said. "This is just sort of where we are."

The calendar committee is annually charged with drafting a school calendar for the upcoming year, to be submitted and approved by the full seven-member School Board. Typically the board approves the calendar it considers in April or May, but Brigham said the committee is hoping to fine-tune their recommendations by March, in time for budget deliberations. While the combined bus routes are expected to save money, other calendar recommendations may have budget impacts.

The committee has yet to solicit public opinion on the later start times, but Brigham said she believes parents are generally supportive of the idea. An online survey published by the calendar committee this past December asked about staff development days and how they impact the calendar. The survey was not published in time to ask about later start times, and Brigham said there may be parents of middle-schoolers who don't want their children riding the high-school bus. "Some of the details need to be worked out on that, but in general, on principal alone, most people are supportive of later times at the High School," she said.

After-school athletics could also be affected by changing the school hours, but Brigham said officials believe the impact would be minimal.

Any recommendation made by the calendar committee will need to be approved by the School Board, Brigham said. "It's not a done deal yet," Brigham said. Minutes of the calendar committee, and all School Board and subcommittee meetings, are published on this Web site. The next calendar committee is meeting is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 8, 12:30-3 p.m. in the Middle School conference room.