Dr. Bourff, the superintendent of HSE Schools, sent out a message to parents about his impending proposal of two options for changing school start times. As his letter states, these changes could happen as soon as next year. The HSE School Board will be discussing this topic once again at the February 12th, 2020 board meeting and could take action at that time.
I’ve included the content of the superintendent’s message below. I’ve included a few other items of reference as well. These include:
- Videos from the November, 2019 Community Q&A on Flipping Start times
- Videos from the January 27, 2020 HSE School Board Working Session
- A copy of some of the slides presented at the January 15th, 2020 school board meeting can be found at http://jones123.com/should-hse-flip-start-times/
Note that the first two videos were captured after the meeting had started using a cell phone. The three videos from the working session don’t have the best sound due to the heating system in the board room being so loud. These are provided, however, as reference so you can hear some of the discussion and feedback that has been happening.
Note: Please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel: Fishers: The Other Side of the Tracks. You can also follow my school related page on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/HSEParents/
The Message from the Superintendent
Dear Parents, Guardians and
Staff:
I want to share an update with you
regarding the discussions around a proposed change to school start times.
For the past several months, at
the direction of the school board, our administrative team has been researching
and identifying outcomes of other neighboring school districts that moved to an
earlier start for elementary students and a later start for
secondary students.
In
addition to our research, since November 2019, we have also solicited feedback
from the school community in the following ways:
- Community Forum (Nov. 19, 2019)
- Online Survey (Nov.-Dec. 2019)
- School
Board Meetings (Jan. 15, 2020 and Jan. 29, 2020)
- Board Work Session (Jan. 27, 2020)
I want you
to know that a decision still has not been made by our school board. However,
the issue is slated for discussion and possible action at the February 12
meeting. Its
implementation could begin as soon as the 2020-2021 school year.
At the
Board’s request, I will be presenting the following two different options. Each
come with their own set of advantages and disadvantages, which I will discuss
further during our meeting.
OPTION 1
Start
times of high school and elementary students will be flipped, and we will
utilize a three-tier transportation schedule.
Elementary:
7:50 AM – 2:20 PM
Intermediate/Junior High: 8:20 AM –
3:20 PM
High School:
8:55 AM –
3:55 PM
Advantages
of Option 1 include:
- Supports
adolescent sleep pattern research.
- Provides consistent student day with no
need for early release.
- Provides Professional Development time
for teachers and staff.
- Three-tier transportation schedule
relieves demands of the drivers required to transport students and allows
for direct bussing for Student Choice at the high schools.
Disadvantages:
- Will require some families to rethink
childcare for younger students and may impact parent and high school
student work schedules.
OPTION
2
We will
implement a three-tier transportation schedule with the following start times
listed below for 2020-21. Then, we would transition to Option 1 start times for
2021-22. This would give families an additional year
to make arrangements in their schedules to accommodate “flipped” start times.
High School:
7:30 AM –
2:30 PM
Intermediate/Junior High: 8:00 AM –
3:00 PM
Elementary:
9:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Advantages of
Option 2 are as follows:
- Provides consistent student day with no
need for early release.
- Provides Professional Development time
for teachers and staff.
- Three-tier transportation schedule
relieves demands of the drivers required to transport students and allows
for direct bussing for Student Choice at the high schools.
Disadvantages:
- Not supported by adolescent sleep pattern research.
- Families may still need childcare for their intermediate and
junior high-level students.
- Stair-step approach would cause families to deal with
changing start times two consecutive years.
I have
given you a lot of information to consider here. I wanted to share this update
to be fully transparent about the process and the possible path ahead.
I
understand the challenges of change and the adjustments that families and staff
members face. I encourage you to learn more about this possible upcoming school
board decision by reviewing the video
recordings of the previous board meetings and by checking the School Start Time Information
webpage.
I have
also attached a list of FAQs that may help answer some of your questions.
Thank you
for your continued support of our students, staff and schools.
Sincerely,
Dr. Allen
B. Bourff
Superintendent
Hamilton
Southeastern Schools
School
Start Times FAQ