Longer School Day – Start Time Change

Last year, the Committee received an analysis of our current school day in comparison to the new school day requirements adopted by the Board of Regents.  A summary of that analysis is in the table below.

AREA

REQUIREMENT

STATUS

NOTE

Kindergarten

2 ¾ hours (165 minutes) of instructional time

2 ½ hours (150 minutes) in school day

We will be required to add a minimum of 15 minutes to the school day, assuming that all non-instructional time (e.g. snack, recess) is removed.  fit within the overall elementary day.

Grades 1-5

330 instructional minutes

360 minute day, less 30 minute lunch and 20 minute recess, total 310 minutes

There is room within the 360 minute day to reach the requirement, but restructuring will be required.  Dropping all recess would reach the minimum, but require every minute beyond lunch to be instructional.

Grades 6-8

330 instructional minutes

360 minute day, less 30-minute lunch, 6-minute homeroom and passing, total 314 minutes.

The new schedule very narrowly meets the 330 minute standard.  It eliminates homeroom in favor of the 30-minute “Learning Center” period, shortens lunch to 22 minutes, and has very limited passing times.

Grades 9-12

330 instructional minutes

370-minute day with 307 instructional minutes.  If homeroom is converted to an advisory, 317

The high school will require 23 additional minutes in the day as currently scheduled (13 if homeroom is converted to an advisory).

 

As can be seen by the above, we are short time at each of the levels unless drastic alterations are made to the school day structure, most of which the district has chosen not to do in the past (e.g. block schedule, eliminate recess).  This shortfall was addressed in the contract negotiations with the NEASK since the implementation deadline for the lengthened school day fell within the time frame of the agreement.  Specifically, the contract calls for the following changes:

·         The elementary school day is extended by 20 minutes effective with the 2005-06 school year, this coming September.  This permits a school day that meets the regulatory minimum in advance of the deadline and maintains our current school day structure.

·         The middle school day is extended by 12 minutes effective with the 2005-06 school year, this coming September.  This permits the return to a 30 minute lunch and the creation of more realistic passing times in advance of the deadline.

·         The high school day is extended by 13 minutes effective with the 2007-08 school year, the year in which the extension is required.  This permits the high school to maintain its current schedule structure and comply with the school day requirement in conformance with the deadline.  Our high school day is already 10 minutes longer than the middle and elementary days.

Even beyond the regulatory requirement, the extension to the school day is an important part of the educational program of the district.  We face not only increasing requirements for student performance, but demands on time for additional subject matter in areas such as interventions, health, safety and arts proficiency.  An extension of the school day is critical for us to respond to these increasing demands without forsaking our instructional core.

While the lengthened school day is positive in that it provides extended instructional time for students, it does create a transportation issue given our current school schedule.  If we take our current school schedules and extend out 12 minutes for the middle schools and 20 minute for the elementary schools, we end up with an elementary school day that runs from 9:47 to 3:47, a schedule that will result in many elementary students arriving home after dark in winter.  During the fall, I’ve been working with the bus company on developing options to avoid the late time schedule of elementary school.

One option considered and rejected is the type of school time switch considered last year – flipping middle and elementary times.  While this would solve the elementary problem, it would just shift it to the middle schools and make the problem for which the switch was rejected – interference with after school activities and facility use – even worse.  The most viable option, and one commonly used by districts, is the combination of middle and high school tiers.  A revised schedule would look like:

School Level                        Start            End            Length of Day

High School                         7:35            1:45            Six hours and ten minutes

Middle Schools                    7:48            2:00            Six hours and twelve minutes

Elementary Schools              8:45            3:05            Six hours and twenty minutes

In this schedule, the high school day is unchanged.  The middle and elementary schools have an earlier start and finish and incorporate the lengthened day.  The capacity is premised on the fact that upper class high school students do not avail themselves of bus transportation, making high school bus runs drastically under capacity.  Additionally, we are also at maximum high school enrollment and will see 6-12 enrollment declines in the coming years.  The system would work as a shuttle, with grade 6-12 students picked up on a single tier and then busses stopping first at the high school and then the middle schools.  The process repeats at dismissal.  This would also add efficiency to our system, since the busses, after taking grade 6-12 students home, would then be near elementary schools.

The one anticipated concern about this plan is having middle and high school students ride busses together.  Having middle and high school students ride together is a common practice in districts across the country.  Experience indicates that it is not problematic, in fact, it can even be positive.  The greatest degree of bus difficulties arise on middle school routes, and the presence of older students calms the behavior of middle schoolers.