Delay of School Start Times a Popular Choice for Greenwich Students, Parents, Staff

The results of the School Start Time Survey conducted by the Greenwich Public Schools (GPS) in which parent, student and staff strongly supported the exploration of a change in school start times is prompting a review of school schedules.

The survey was administered between May 26 and June 5 to GPS students in Grades 8 through 12, all parents and all staff. According to the district, 2,180 parents replied; 863 staff and 1,189 students.

The majority of parents (75%) and students (77%) responding were supportive or highly supportive of exploring a change in school start times. Staff respondents were largely supportive (45%) or neutral (20%) in their support of exploring a change in school start times.

Currently, Greenwich High classes begin at 7:30 a.m., middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. and elementary schools start at either 8:15 or 8:45 a.m. The survey covered various options to delaying the start of classes by up to one hour.

The survey respondents were asked to consider transportation options, child-care needs, extracurricular activities and after-school employment or other obligations in whether they supported school schedule changes.

Superintendent of Schools William McKersie said in a statement, “The strong response rates and resulting data reflect clear support among students, parents and staff for exploring a change in school start times. Therefore, I will be recommending to the Board of Education in September 2015 a work schedule for exploring optimal school start times for maximizing student academic success, health and well-being in grades PreK-12.

McKersie added, “Given the relevance of this issue to our strategic concerns about students’ personal and interpersonal capacities, this exploration will be presented as a priority component of the Strategic Plan.”

• The results of the parent survey can be found here.
• The results of the student survey can be found here.
• The results of the staff survey can be found here.

The work schedule for exploring a change in school start times will include a proposed point person, steering committee and timeline for the development of options. The options will be developed with the review and input of parents, staff, students and community and will be presented to the Board of Education for action.

The School Start Time Steering Committee will be charged with considering costs and other impacts of any adjustments to school start times, including transportation, before and after school activities, childcare and work responsibilities, and athletic schedules.

The survey data will provide initial guidance for the School Start Time Steering Committee on level of support for potential models and areas of concern.

Photo credit: Flickr.com.