This year both North and South have experimented with a new schedule: beginning classes at 9 AM each day and ending close to 4 PM. Some teachers that I respect have lauded the change, noting that their students are much more alert during the first block of the day than in prior years. For several years some parents have been advocating later starts, citing evidence that teenage biorhythms are ill-suited to the 7:40 start time. It may well be that the superintendent and school committee declare the change permanent.
No doubt, all these voices are sincere. My experience, however, over 34 years as both a teacher and coach leads me to disagree. I fear that the later start will exacerbate problems that started when the academic day lengthened during the Ed Reform Era of the 90s.
The high school schedule started veering off the rails with the onset of the state-mandated 990 Rule. That provision required students to spend a minimum number of hours per year in class in major subjects. Newton, ever loyal to state mandates, created a lengthier and, frankly, more tedious schedule for all involved. Other comparable suburban schools found a way essentially to work around the mandate and to maintain schedules in line with their prior practice. Even today, our peer schools end earlier than in Newton. Before 990, high school began here at 8 AM and ended at 2:30 or earlier most days. In their major subjects students attended four blocks per week, each fifty minutes long: no 55 or 75-minute long blocks! Suddenly, with 990 school began at 7:40 and sometimes ran almost up to 3 PM. J-block, Newton South’s tutorial block after school on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday, generally lasted until 3:30.
Before 990, extracurricular activities, ranging from play and band rehearsals to athletic team practices and club meetings, usually started during J-block. If students needed to attend J-block with a teacher to review material or to complete projects or exams, they would show up to their activity afterward with a note from the teacher in hand. In my view, it worked well. Extracurricular activities, by and large, ended before 5 PM except for competitions. Students arrived home in time for dinner, with several hours afterward to complete their homework assignments.
Most importantly, students had less difficulty balancing their academic and non-academic lives. Let’s face it: the speech team or the chess club or the track team is often the activity that anchors a student in high school. Academics, to be sure, should take the highest priority. My tennis players understood that if they were falling behind in classes or even failing, they needed to reconsider their participation on the team. For most players, however, being on the team improved their academic achievement by forcing them to better organize their time.
The argument behind 990 was that student learning would improve with more “face time” with teachers of major subjects. I never found that to be the case. I taught half my career with 50-minute blocks and half with lengthier blocks and saw no difference. In both eras, graduates returning to visit generally made the same observation: they felt well prepared for their classwork, indeed better prepared than their college roommates. Not one student complained of being unready for the rigors of college studies. In other words, South was already quite academic before 990. All that 990 did was take precious time away from students’ lives, thereby increasing the pressure on them.
The new, late-starting schedule, unfortunately, may heighten the pressure even more. With school ending so late, sports practices and theatre rehearsals cannot begin until 4:30. If they end at 6, then many students will not get home until 6:30 or 7. If we have a road match, who knows when we will return? Last Friday’s volleyball game ended at 9:30! Imagine the scramble to complete assignments at such a late hour. Already, some veteran team members have decided not to play this spring, given the demands of this outlandish schedule.
Sadly, it seems that South is slowly abandoning its former goal, as articulated by principal emeritus Van Seasholes: educating the whole student. This notion means nurturing both intellectual and athletic activity, passion and discipline. This late-starting schedule, coupled with the demands of 990, makes less tenable one vital means of expression: extracurricular activities.
This new proposed end time is going to be really hard on our family during NON covid times. As a bus parent, I have found that during the winter, there are times that the bus is late. (Snow happens, and I understand that.) And if the bus is late, so is your kid. Once in a blue moon the bys doesn’t show up. So, if the parents leave the house PRIOR to the student leaving the house, you have no idea if the bus is late, and if your kid can get to school on time. I have no idea when the bus will come next year, but I can imagine it being late if it is doing two other runs before the high school run. But as a working parent, I will be leaving the house every day before my kid gets on the bus. And if the bus runs late daily, and I have to start driving the child, then I get punished for being late to work – every day.
This year was hard, as my kid NEVER SAW daylight during the winter due to the 3:55 end. NEVER. We had no prior warning either, so we had already signed up for a 4 PM local class one day a week. Yup, my child was late.
And occasionally the student needs to see the orthodontist, dentist or doctor. EVERY Newton high school parent is going to compete for the 4:30 PM appointment. Many offices don’t see patients that late.
ANd if a child wanted an after school job, that got harder by the late end. Everything shifts late. High school kids won’t be able to baby sit for neighborhood kids as the younger kids will get out earlier.
The METCO students are going to get home much later than in past years.
Some kids have local classes that they take (NCE, dance, club sports, art lessons, music lessons) and all of those local businesses need to shift their classes for next year. If affects not only the student, but the local community.
From what I remember in PAST community meetings, the goal was to start later, but still end by 3/3:15 PM. This entire shift to 3:45 PM throws out the community meetings. Yes, we are getting the students more sleep, but the cost is going to be schedules that don’t work for working parents or families. Students are going to eat dinner at 8 PM or 9 PM, then start homework? I don’t recall having an end time of 3:45 PM being desirable. Our community leaders seem to think high school students can be swung to be extremes. No more 7:40 AM? Great. The ideal is 8:30 AM, but we can’t have every school start at 8:30 AM, so the high school students can end later.
This past year with asynchronus Wednesdays have been a nightmare, and don’t forget the “NO SCHOOL” Wednesdays this year. As parents, we were told Friday afternoon, that not only is there no school on April 14 (asynchronus) but we have to get our kid to the school to pick up the brand new Chromebook (that was due in September).
Not all of us have the luxury of having a parent home during the day. Not all of us can skip out of work at some random time, to drive our kid (because most freshman don’t drive). And since we are a bus family, nor does my kid have the ability to walk to school to pick it up.
I am thankful that this is my last child at NPS. I am not enjoying how high school families/students are being treated. There was NO community input. Instead NPS is taking the last 8 years of discussion, and publishing the studies that best relate to them. They are NOT publishing how the late end time punishes the students. NPS cherry picked what information they are sharing.
My child started school at 9:15 AM this year; and lunch was at 10:40 AM four days a week. Guess who was starved when I picked up at 3:30 PM every day? Yup, my kid. This is not a natural meal schedule for a child.
Bob, great input. Unfortunately, the data here is clear and the scientific backing is virtually unanimous.
Thanks for brining up some of the unintended consequences of the shift. Those have been explored and while there are some losses in convenience, they do not put the health of students at risk.
However, and this is important: The #1 purpose of school is to educate students in academics. Sports, theatre, extra curriculars, etc. while important (and I don’t want to start a whole debate here) come second. Full stop. The goal is to start school when best for ALL students, which is proven to be at or past 8:30am.
This change is long overdue. Let’s move the start times and then continue our efforts to improve the overall experience for our students.
@NewtonMom, just as a point of disagreement, you mention METCO students getting home late. Do you know how early some of them have to get up to get to school for 740 & 750am? I’ve heard as early as 415am. That’s too early and while we can’t really “solve” the problem unless we start school at 10am, we can take a step in the scientifically recommended direction.
Members of the School Committee,
I am the President of Newton Girls Soccer and a founder of the Newton Athletic Fields Foundation (www.fixNewtonsFields.com). I have worked closely with the City of Newton for 2+ years to improve athletic fields and I have been involved with NGS since 1993.
Summary
Delaying the dismissal for High Schools will have a second-order negative impact on youth athletic programs (soccer, lacrosse, flag football, ultimate frisbee) that 3,500+ Newton Residents participate in. As part of the analysis done in preparation for the new HS Schedule, no discussions were conducted (that I am aware of) with the youth athletic programs impacted. No analysis has been done by NPS or PRC to understand the field scheduling changes required. To adapt to the late dismissal changes this school year, High School teams adjusted their schedules as they needed to and the youth programs were then given “the remaining time”.
To make this change equitable for all residents, Newton needs to tightly couple the later dismissals with a formal plan and financial commitment to invest in increased athletic field capacity and field lighting. As the use of fields has continued to increase, Newton has not added any capacity in decades.
This feedback is not focused on the plan to delay the start/end time of the High Schools. It is intended to inform the committee that there was no analysis performed with regards to athletic field scheduling and that work is required to address the issues the proposed changes will create.
High School Teams use the same fields as youth teams
High School teams do not have sufficient facilities on campus and are therefore required to practice and play on many off-campus municipal facilities in Newton which includes: Weeks, Cold Spring Park, McGrath, Cabot, Lincoln/Waban, Upper Falls, and Highlands. High School teams are given priority in scheduling so youth teams cannot access these fields until the HS practices and games are completed. At NSHS, for example, 11 teams play in the Fall (2 Football, 6 soccer, 3 field hockey) but there are only 4 fields on campus. With practices running later in the new model, access to fields before dark will be dramatically limited. Sunset on October 1 is 6:25 and by Oct 31 it is 5:38. This effectively eliminates access for other programs to any field without lights used by HS teams.
New Schedules for High School in FALL 2020 forced cancellations for youth programs
For many years, the youth programs have been alerting the City of Newton that field capacity is insufficient. Fields with lights are also in short supply. This results in teams having limited access to quality field space, overloading fields, and having to cancel practices at the end of the Fall season after the clocks are set back. Even the HS programs struggle with field access in Oct/Nov because it gets dark early. This problem will be exacerbated by the new late dismissal.
With the new High School end time this past Fall, the two soccer organizations were both FORCED TO CANCEL 30% of their travel programs because of insufficient field capacity. This Spring, youth soccer and lacrosse are still struggling to get teams all of their practice time (There are fewer HS teams, but also fewer fields available for these sports). In some cases, the only solution is to pack even more players onto the same space which causes field quality to degrade quickly. Youth flag football and frisbee continue to struggle to get sufficient field space. Organizations are already being forced to rent space from private schools and facilities that are outside of Newton to run their programs.
Even with additional field lighting, many teams have players who are not old enough to play late (Grades 2-9 practice during the week). Programs are already forced to run some practices for 8th graders until 9:00 PM. We do not want to have more athletes play later (and go to bed late) if we can avoid it. The solution is to increase the OVERALL capacity of quality fields in addition to lighting on existing fields (starting with all turf fields).
Conclusion
The delay to the end time for schools will further reduce the available field time for youth athletic programs. For many residents, these are the only form of athletics they can participate in especially before 7th grade.
The proposed change to the HS end time MUST be tied to a formal plan to increase Newton’s capacity for quality athletic fields and field lighting. Without these improvements, thousands of Newton residents will have fewer opportunities to participate in athletics.
NPS has made a commitment to equity. I am optimistic that they can stand by this goal when looking at how the change to the High School schedule impacts other Newton residents (most of which are also NPS students).
Respectfully,
Justin Traxler
President, Newton Girls Soccer
Newton Athletic Fields Foundation
Newton’s high school start times should have been changed many years ago. The fact that they haven’t changed in all these years is attributable to an incredible lack of leadership on the School Committee. The small minority of parents who don’t support this change are either uninformed as to the science behind it, or they just don’t give a damn about the physical and mental health of Newton’s high school students.
On the numerous occasions in which I have spoken with former students, including at class reunions, I cannot recall one instance of anyone complaining about South’s start time. For the most part, students were glad to have attended South but wishing that their high school years had been more enjoyable and less pressure-filled. When they did complain, students mentioned academic competition, parental pressure, the social scene, dreary classes, and the like.
Perhaps the alumni were just being polite….
The science is clear. There is considerable evidence that that later high school start times are associated with better mental and physical health, and improved learning. I am not talking about a handful of studies, rather dozens. We have been remiss in not making this change years ago. Hopefully NPS will have a physician present a literature review, so everyone can be on the same page.
While I agree with a later start time, I remember 8:30 am was the happy medium as a start time so that the end time was reasonable, ideally 3 pm.
I don’t have a child in HS yet, but I remember the early schedule being absolute hell for me as a teenager. In retrospect I’m not sure how I got through the day. I think being in school until 3:45 is a sacrifice that I would have been willing to take.
Mr. Jampol,
Although I never had the privilege of being in your class, let me be the first to complain. I’ve been waiting for this change for over 30 years. Van Seasholes’ South was rigorous and rewarding, but it also brought great stress, and the early morning start (only 8am at the time as I recall) certainly didn’t help students’ mental health. I’m sorry that the whole student concept didn’t consider emotional well-being. Student stress was an issue then and it has been ever since. For all the challenges and disappointment we have faced the last year with COVID, I appreciate that the schools have focused on our kids state of mind. Let’s hope that continues.
I’ll be happy to see the late start time finally implemented for my second child’s senior year. Late start times should be non-negotiable. If the administration could have also made the school day shorter all these years and didn’t, shame on them, but that’s a separate issue.
Adam ’89
Thanks, Adam. You join the ranks of others that I respect that disagree with me in this regard. Frankly, though, if school began at 8:30 and ended at 3, we’d all be happy. Is that possible if Newton abides by its current interpretation of 990? Also, after all this time I guess that you should call me Bob!
Another way NPS could fit 990 hours of instruction time is to extend the school year or reduce the teacher training days during the school year and hold them before or after the school year.
I think it would be great if the after school activities were rolled back into J block and the day ended at 4. It has always struck me as very unfair that students who rely on the bus don’t have access to sports and clubs that happen after school.
Ok, Mr. Jampol!
Haha, ok. Bob it is! Mary Mary said it well. Teenage me would be thrilled with the current proposal. I’m all for compromise. However, I seem to recall there were other issues with an 8:30 start time, notably the conflict between South and the middle school start times, with impacts to traffic and busing. Make start time late enough and who knows, kids might walk to school!
It’s a tough puzzle. It would be great if someone finds a better solution.
Earlier I wrote non-negotiable. I really meant that we have to have a later start time than we have now and we can’t go back to the status quo. The exact mix may be up for debate, but after years of study and reports, are we really going to do any better for our kids by September?
This should absolutely be implemented. As a former Newton South student (god it seems like forever ago), I remember the brutal 7:40 am start time as something that caused undue stress for myself and my classmates. With the amount of work it requires to succeed at a top notch public school like South or North, in addition to extracurriculars, and having a healthy social life, there is no way for a high school student in Newton to get the proper sleep. To argue otherwise is to argue with science. Humans, especially growing ones like teenagers, need a certain amount of sleep to function in a healthy manner. The current start time doesn’t allow for that, period. Change the times, and prioritize the students health first.
… “Mom, I don’t need to go to bed early – don’t worry about me and just go to sleep. I don’t have class until 10:30 on Tue/Thur …and besides my lunch is at 10:40. Why are you so upset, I’m not bothering you if I stay up late.”
This is a convo I have every week. Some teens are simply thrilled with the “extra” time – and some (like mine) weren’t even complaining about 7:30 times, until they were asked whether 7:30 felt too early! Ofcourse it feels too early. I don’t want to be dressed and out the house at that hour either. And, isn’t it so great to be able to stay up until 1:30am now to do whatever? (Sarcasm)
Let’s play this out: now my kid has the luxury to sleep-in until 8:57am every day, because with Zoom school who needs to get ready or eat breakfast if classes are in the bedroom? athletics begin at 4:30 and end by 6:30 – unless it’s an away game. That’s fine, but clearly there is no time for an afterschool job (something to be said about learning about the value of money and feeling responsible to someone other than a teacher or parent)
what’s “really” going on with my kid these days. How can I check on the social-emotional-academic well being when I barely see them? It was hard enough already!
The Pendulum swung too far and IMO a slight shift to 7:55-8:40 could have been great. Figure it out Newton, just don’t take 12months to do it.
“Working parents” – you make it sound like the decision was based off high schoolers leisurely staying up until 1:30 AM and lazing around all morning, but there is actually scientific research about teen’s sleep schedules.
And honestly, what’s the difference between your idea of 8:40 vs 9:00? Is that 20 minutes really going to change your lifestyle?
So does this mean the NN high school teachers will finally have to work in person on Wednesday’s? Every Wed, which is my conference call day at work, I have taken a long walk around NN. I enjoy our garden city from the track to the fields, and in between. What I have noticed over the past ten weeks on Wednesday’s is an empty NN parking lot, kids congregating around campus with friends, no faculty around, and the overpriced tent rental structure with no roof. Today, I setup a 2021 schedule meeting so I can actually see if the teachers as a whole are onsite. I’ll post more later.
@Ken. On Wednesday’s most students are remote. Half of the day is synchronous and half asynchronous alternating every week between which is in the morning and which is in the afternoon unless they are like one of the teachers my kids have who has decided that every Wednesday is all asynchronous. Today at least at South was all asynchronous because freshman picked up the chromebooks that were ordered for them for this year.
@Bob Jampol: All of my three offspring who attended NSHS hated the 7:40 am start. I hated it, too, particularly when they missed the bus and I had to take them.
I do agree, however, about the amount of tedious make-work that the school system burdens our children with, particularly the homework.