Committee continues work on proposal for 2008-09 school
hours
The School Board's Calender Committee is fine-tuning its recommendations
for the 2008-09 school year.
The committee is still looking to recommend a later start time for middle-
and high-school students, but not quite as late as first planned.
At their January meeting, the committee planned to recommend to the School
Board an 8:30 a.m. start time for both middle- and high-schoolers. Currently
the Middle School starts at 7:50 a.m.; and the High School at 7:30
a.m.
The recommendation for a later start is based on studies that teen-aged students
are more alert and learn better later in the day. But the later start also
means a later finish, and a potential 3 p.m. dismissal time has raised concerns
about conflicts with after-school sports and other activities.
"The biggest concern seemed to be impact on athletic schedules and frequency
with which students might need to leave school to participate in athletic/other
extracurricular events," according to minutes from the committee's Feb. 8
meeting.
A draft calendar was expected to be published for public comment in the next
few weeks, but members of the calendar committee may opt to gather more feedback
before formulating a draft, said committee chairman and School Board member
Trish Brigham. Any recommendation made by the calendar committee will need
to be approved by the School Board.
The minutes include a compromise proposal the committee was considering:
Middle School, 8:10 a.m.-2:40 p.m.; High School, 8:15 a.m.-2:45 p.m.; Pond
Cove, 8:50 a.m.-3:20 p.m. Middle School and High School students would ride
the same buses.
"This schedule seemed to be a compromise for all schools, athletics and community
services programs, yet still moves us in the direction we want to go, which
is later starts for teens," the minutes say. The committee also discussed
establishing a task force to monitor and address issues that may arise
during the first year of adjusted hours.
Aside from the school hours, the committee this year is struggling with
scheduling around the presidential election, December holidays, and
staff-development time, Brigham said.
Minutes of the calendar committee, and all School Board and subcommittee
meetings, are published on this Web site.
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