School Start Times

[PollyannaMom]

This is inspired by the bedtime thread. People have mentioned that their older kids tend to start school earlier in the morning than their younger kids.

I've actually read that this pattern is the opposite of what research suggests, but that parents like it because the older kids are already home in the afternoon to get the younger ones off the bus.

So -

Is is this the pattern where you live? And would you be upset if it changed, so the little kids went earlier, and the older ones could sleep in?

Or does your school accomodate the research, and do you like it that way?


Personally, I wish the little ones went earlier. DS would never sleep in at that age anyway, but sometimes wishes he could now.

 

[Cinderella94]

I'm graduating from high school on Wednesday.

Our high schools start around 7:15 AM, middle schools around 8, and elm schools around 9. Sleeping in more would have been nice, as a high schooler, but, getting out at 2:05 was worth it.

High schoolers around here that play sports have long practices every day after school and don't even get home til 6 PM (roughly) as it is. Starting school later would just make it worse.

 

[hereyago]

our school system has it set up that the high school and middle school go earlier then the elementary students.therefore getting out earlier, except once a week on a certain day, elementary students only have half a day and get out earlier then the high school and middle school students.

 

[bluezy]

Our High School and Middle school go from 7:30 - 2:30 and our Elementary is from 8:30 - 3:30. The HS & MS used to get out later than the elementary school but that was changed a few years ago so that the older kids are home before the younger ones for those who rely on them to watch younger siblings after school.

ETA: I like it this way. While my kids all prefer to sleep late, I like that the older ones can get up and get started on their own while I'm doing the same thing. They don't need me checking on them and reminding them to keep moving. Once they're off to school, I can get the younger ones -- who *do* need me to keep reminding them to keep moving -- ready for their bus. I find the older ones are easier to wake up at 6:00 a.m. than the younger ones (who are a challenge even at 7:00 a.m. regardless of what time they go to bed the night before).

 

[Poohforyou]

In our district the middle and HS kids start an hour earlier than the elementary schools, 7:45 vs. 8:45. DD is in her 1st yr of middle school. She is not a morning person and doesn't play sports so it would be nice for her and me if it were reversed. I understand the practicality of not doing it though since so many kids do play sports and participate in other activities.


I have to say though I wouldn't have wanted to deal with an earlier start time when she was in elementary school. She's much better to deal with now that she's older although morning still are not great around here.

 

[MrsPete]

Yes, the research (and it's been around for decades) clearly proves that teenagers just aren't at their best early in the morning, but our schools do exactly what you're describing. We do it for several reasons:

- We have to have staggered start times. Bus drivers are simply impossible to hire, so they all drive multiple routes: A high school route, then an elementary route . . . or a middle school route, then an elementary route.

- High schoolers -- and their parents -- want them to be out early in the afternoon so they can 1) attend sports practices and make it to away games. 2) hold down after school jobs.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Old area, middle school was the last one to start...at 9am. It was switched to this a few years ago. I think elementary is at 8am and high school was before that. It was cited (IIRC) that the middle school years were in greatest need of the extra sleep. Not so much the high schoolers.

Here, elementary school is the last one to start....at 9am. Not sure when the other schools start.

 

[Katy Belle]

HS and MS start at 7:50 and end at 2:35. Elementary starts at 8:50 ends at 3:35. I think its a bus route thing. This was our last year of elementary. I will like having everyone home by 3, but not really looking forward to having all up and out by 7:20. Marching band is even earlier.

 

[aprilgail2]

Grade school goes at 920
Jr. High starts at 740
High School starts at 7:05

 

[PrincesCJM]

Grade school goes at 920
Jr. High starts at 740
High School starts at 7:05

705?!?! Sounds absolutely yucky and I'm a high school teacher. Classes start at my school at 750. I can not speak for the other schools - I have no idea when they start.

 

[aprilgail2]

705?!?! Sounds absolutely yucky and I'm a high school teacher. Classes start at my school at 750. I can not speak for the other schools - I have no idea when they start.

Yea that time sucks! Plus a lot of the teachers do tutorial before school so then the kids have to be there at 630.

 

[cristit14]

Elementary starts at 840
Middle school starts at 720
High school starts at 715. On most Thursdays they have a late start at 820 for the high school.

 

[golfgal]

Our district did a survey a few years ago about switching the high school start time for a later start. They had separate surveys for parents, teacher and students. The parents and the teachers all wanted the high school to start later but 80+% of the high school kids said they wanted to leave it as is so they did not switch.

 

[Arkansan]

Here the elementary schools (K-4) start at 7:30, middle schools (5-6) start at 7:40, Jr. Highs (7-8) start at 8:35 and HS starts at 8:45. Jr. and Sr. High are on block scheduling. The HS also has "zero hour" starting at 7 am and those kids are out around 2 pm. Most athletes (and band, cheer, etc.) are required to take zero hour so that they don't miss as much school when they have an away game. Practice can also start earlier if the whole team is out at 2. We also have two-tiered bussing--the elementary and MS kids are first and the Jr. and Sr. High are last. There is no transportation provided for zero hour or the early dismissal. I think the kids could hang around the HS until the bus leaves at 3:45, but that kind of defeats the purpose of being out early, so I don't think too many kids do that, but I don't know for sure.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I have been in 4 different districts and they all varied from youngest starting first to oldest starting first.

Where I am now the middle school starts first, then the high school, following the elementary.

DD starts HS next yr and is happy that she can go an hour later.

Middle school starts 7:30

High School is
7:08 for zero hour which has no transporation now and pretty much cut due to budget cuts
Officially HS starts 8:16 for 1st Period

Elementary is 9:00

 

[MoonFaerie]

My kids go to a K-8, and they start at 8 AM.

I just checked the other schools in the county. They all start sometime between 7:50 & 8:05. It varies by area what order they start in, but it's only a 5 min stagger between the schools.

 

[erincon23]

Here, elem is 8:50-3:30, middle 7:42-2:15, and HS 7:25-2:53. On Monday, the HS has "late start Monday" and starts 45 minutes later, supposedly giving the teachers an opportunity to have department wide meetings, but I think they had so many kids coming in late on Monday mornings that they did this in self-preservation...

We had a district-wide questionnaire a couple of years about switching the elem and middle school times (they're one district and the HS is a separate district). Both districts share the buses and drivers (and the same buses and drivers pick up for some of the private schools in the area, so that's thrown into the mix time-wise). A lot of parents objected over the idea that if their elementary school kids got home first, there would be nobody to watch them for an hour until the middle school kids got home. This also would have thrown the bus schedule off, because the middle school band meets at 7 am, so the middle schools actually have a double bus run in the morning.

Personally, my older son was harder to get up in the morning that my younger one is now (he just finished his freshman year), but both adjusted pretty well to the necessary bedtimes. Neither play sports, so that wasn't an issue, but DS18 was involved in theater, so starting and ending later would have caused problems with that.

 

[SaraJayne]

Yes, the research (and it's been around for decades) clearly proves that teenagers just aren't at their best early in the morning, but our schools do exactly what you're describing. We do it for several reasons:

- We have to have staggered start times. Bus drivers are simply impossible to hire, so they all drive multiple routes: A high school route, then an elementary route . . . or a middle school route, then an elementary route.

- High schoolers -- and their parents -- want them to be out early in the afternoon so they can 1) attend sports practices and make it to away games. 2) hold down after school jobs.

K-12 all ride the same buses here.

High school starts 5 mins before Elem/MS to allow for the HS kids to get dropped off first. Then the busses drive into town to the Elem/MS and drop off the younger kids.

 

[Tosie]

Elementary (k-8) 9:00-3:15, ds' high school - 8:00-3:00.

 

[K and K's Mommy]

Our school district just went through this. Beginning next year:

elementary - 8:00
middle and high school - 8:50