Howard County Weighs 5 Options for School Start Times

HOWARD COUNTY, MD — When should kids start school?

A committee in Howard County was tasked with making recommendations about school start times, and the group presented four suggestions at Thursday's Board of Education meeting. A fifth option is to keep the current schedule.

The public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposals during a series of upcoming community forums, and there will be a public hearing in February on the matter. The new schedule would take effect for the 2017-2018 academic year.

The recommendations came after the school board commissioned a study in April of a schedule that would allow middle and high school students to start class at the earliest at 8:15 a.m.

Using factors such as sleep, athletics, childcare, safety, traffic and transportation, the Howard County Public School System School Start and Dismissal Time Committee came up with the following four models:

1. Elementary is 7:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m. or 8 a.m.-2:45 p.m.; middle is 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m.; high is 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.
2. Elementary is 7:30 a.m.-2:15 p.m. or 8 a.m.-2:45 p.m.; middle is 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.; and high is 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m.
3. Elementary is 7:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. or 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m.; middle is 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.; and high is 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m.
4. Elementary is 7:45 a.m.-2:30 p.m. or 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m.; middle is 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m.; and high is 8:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

Which option do you think is the best? Tell us in the comments!

All four proposals call for a 6 hour and 45 minute school day, which is 15 minutes longer than elementary school currently runs, school officials said.

The following are comparison models provided by the Howard County Public School System.

Community forums about school start times will take place from 7 to 9 p.m. at the following places:

• Wednesday, Nov. 30, at Marriotts Ridge High School, 12100 Woodford Drive, Marriottsville
• Wednesday, Dec. 7, at Howard High School, 8700 Old Annapolis Road, Ellicott City
• Wednesday, Dec. 14, at Reservoir High School, 11550 Scaggsville Road, Fulton

Through Dec. 14, people can also provide feedback online.

The Howard County Board of Education will host a public hearing on the issue of school start times on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

Image via Shutterstock.

See Also: School Start Times Under Review for Howard County Public Schools