Those on the school mailing lists may have seen a memo from Supt. Fleishman today about school start times. The school committee (with the Mayor’s office) has formed a High School Start Time Working Group. It looks from the memo that we will be seeing surveys and public fora over the next year (I’m assuming the next school year is the target for activity, if not a decision).
While I am parent of a student about to leave the public school system, I remain interested in what comes out of this. I know it has been a very important issue to many of us, not just those who have been extremely vocal about it on V14.
For myself (and as statistically invalid focus group with 1 teenager) I have always taken seriously the discussions around studies calling for later start times to make sure our children are rested and healthy, as I have always noted the logistical obstacles, within the city and in concert with other communities with whom we share extracurricular activities. This feels to me like a serious attempt to at least talk about the situation, though I am sure we will see other opinions in comments.
Does the formation of a working group mean a change on the horizon? I have no idea. But it appears there will be opportunities for members of the community to be heard on the issue.
The memo in its entirety, with a link if it doesn’t show up for you on the page:
More bla bla bla to fill the vacuum of leadership on this issue.
Really Mike? What a disappointing response from you of all people.
When I first read Doug’s post I thought, I bet Mike is the first to volunteer.
What’s the expression? If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the [noise] pollution.
I hope you reconsider.
The evidence is that every year the NPS delays making the change, they are subjecting our kids to worse school performance, worse physical health, worse mental health and more traffic accidents. What are we waiting for? We don’t survey parents about the rigor of the math program or the quality of the assigned literature, but we are going to survey them about late start times?
This is important. An email list is starting point. Anyone who wants to join a group that supports later high school times, please email me at [email protected] and tell me your name. Please ask people who do not read V14 to contact me.
This is a serious issue that requires leadership, not more studies or “working groups.” It’s been more than a decade since I first raised the issue of high school start times as a mayoral candidate. If I’d been elected, I’d have implemented a 9am start time by Executive Order, as the Charter gives the mayor that right. The School Committee members have proven themselves incapable of making the change, and the Mayor is more interested in building his resume through world travel than protecting Newton students from systemic abuse.
I first became aware of this a decade ago when I noticed that my teenagers had trouble getting up in the morning. Figuring maybe they were going to bed too late, we shifted back the “lights out” 90 minutes. It didn’t matter. The sluggishness and longer times to come up to learning speed continued.
My compatriots and I were always so groggy waiting for the bus in front of Keyes drug at 7 AM in 1972. Even going to bed early meant nothing. It was still the middle of the night for us.
Then I began to read the studies, studies that have since been quoted endlessly on this blog and elsewhere. These studies have been around now for years and the experts on the school committee are STILL treating this as a SCHEDULING issue and not a HEALTH issue.
Every decision, such as bus TIMES and after-school activities, must flow FROM this change. A change that should be first immediate priority, not yet another working group study.
The long-term lack of action has become close to being unforgivable.
My oldest enters high school in 2 years. I hope we’ve made the change by then!