Promote legislation to prevent public schools from starting before 8 a.m.

Parents Forum
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<p>Here’s a question: do many/most of your high schools have the same start and end times for all kids? That’s not the case here. There is a real variation among start times because the buildings are just so crowded. A student who comes in zero period this semester might have lunch third period as his first class of the day and then have academics 4-9th period or 5-10th period.</p>

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<p>It was called riding the “shame train.” Where I grew up public transportation was mainly for those who couldn’t afford a car. It was a small town.</p>

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<p>ECs are a definate problem in the scenario. Late school times make practice sessions later which cut into dinner/family time. And family time makes more difference than the ECs or school sometimes–especially for teenagers.</p>

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Ahhh! That makes sense. A lot of people here don’t drive at all.</p>

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<p>Our schools have turned into babysitting services for the young ones. People in our area don’t want elementary school age to get out early (even though that’s how their clock works!) because then they have to pay for daycare. If you’re looking at studies–see how much trouble a teen can get into when they get home alone…
Maybe the real answer is flex time for working parents. Start in the other direction…</p>

106

<p>@zoose- My hs had only one bus time. There was no “late bus”. If you wanted to do clubs, tutoring, sports, or even meet with teachers after school you need to drive or be driven to school. My city also has no other forms of public transportation.</p>

<p>ETA: We also only had one start time and one end time. There were no late classes or “0 periods”. I went to one of the largest high school campuses in the country (6200 students) but our student population isn’t rising too drastically so we’re not overcrowded just yet.</p>

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<p>Seems like my district must be one of the only ones with a 9am start time for HS. It works just fine here.

  • Varsity sports practice before school starting at 7:30 or 8am and then continue through 1st period. Same with cheerleading. Non varsity sports and drill team practice 7th period and after school (starting at 3:30, usually ending at 5:30 or 6pm).
  • No ECs scheduled on Wednesday nights (that’s church night here) or Friday (football nights)
  • 60% of our kids walk to school (some few drive). Buses provided if you live more than a mile away but don’t accomodate sports schedules.
  • Seniors can come an hour late (10am) or leave early depending on schedule. Many seniors leave at 2:30 for jobs.
  • Elementary schools go from 8am - 3pm with afterschool provided for free or reduced cost.
  • Junior highs and high schools also have low cost/free enrichment but few participate.</p>

<p>Of course, this is Texas. I think we rank about 47th in education. So, despite the nice, cushy schedule (did I mention that my kids never have more than 2 hr of homework), I doubt many of you would want to trade places.</p>

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<p>Here the bus is called the “Looser Cruiser”. </p>

<p>But back to the main topic. I’m sure my kids’ high school isn’t the only one that has a rotating schedule…thus the period one class is not the first one in the morning…it rotates. So on a B day…classes start with period two…and on a C day classes start with period three…and so forth. I thought it was confusing but the kids sure didn’t. I mean I could say “I’m trying to schedule a dentist appointment on April 5…what class would you miss”…and they would know. I really don’t know HOW they knew… but they were never wrong.</p>

<p>Bottom line is that this prevented ANY class from being first…or last everyday. Also our juniors and seniors were allowed to come late or leave early if they had a study hall. By rotating the schedule, it gave more students the op for a late arrival or early departure.</p>

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<p>My school still had “late-ins” and “early-outs” for juniors and seniors who were not deficient in any credits. Late in’s were not popular with the top students because they wanted to make sure they took “the most rigorous schedule”. Early outs were more popular as those participating in sports didn’t miss a class when they were leaving for an away game (again, small town so the commute was often several hours).</p>

<p>I wonder how popular 7 am or 8 am classes are at most colleges, where students have a choice. At my college no one would even think about taking a class that early unless that was all that was offered.</p>