REMINDER:
Event is tomorrow night, January 26 at 7pm at Newton North High School
For those interested in learning more about (and getting involved on) the school start time initiative, please be aware of the forum we have coming up next Tuesday:
Why So Early? Rethinking the High School Start Time: A Community Forum
Tuesday, January 26, 7:00-8:30 p.m.
Newton North High School Cafeteria
Concerned about the impact of limited sleep on your student? There is a lot of evidence that delaying the start time for high school can improve the physical and mental health of students, reduce tardiness, and improve learning in school. Newton is in the process of studying a later start time for the two high schools. The School Committee has formed the High School Start Time Working Group to study the benefits and challenges of doing so. Find out more at http://www.newton.k12.ma.us/laterstarttime.
On January 26, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., in the Newton North cafeteria, the Newton North School Council is sponsoring a forum to inform the community about the benefits and challenges of a later high school start time in our city. We are pleased to be joined by Superintendent David Fleishman, Working Group and School Committee members Ellen Gibson and Ruth Goldman, and Dr. Christopher Landrigan, a Newton parent and a physician and researcher in the Division of Sleep Disorders at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. We will also hear from high school students and faculty about their experiences. We welcome your participation in the conversation about a later high school start time in Newton.
Even if you attended the forum last April at Newton South, this forum will have updated information, including where the process stands right now in Newton, as well as a new keynote speaker.
I’m not going to be critical of the Superintendent for hosting this “forum,” but everyone should recognize this particular pathway will take years to bring about change. Too much talk, and not enough leadership. Sleep deprivation presents some very serious health consequences for teens, and early morning start times should have been addressed years ago by the School Committee. They have proven themselves incapable of fixing a problem that negatively impacts the lives of thousands of students daily. This problem must be taken out of their hands. Mayor Warren should use his authority to make this change now, so later start times will be in place at the beginning of the next school year. Make the change first. Make it now. The world will not end, and everything else will fall into place.
I think Dr. Fleishman must have been thinking of my fellow ice hockey parents who were up and out for a 5:30 a.m. practice today!
The NPS decision will have a profound impact on our children. A group of concerned parents has organized. Please visit http://NewtonHighSchools.com for more information.