Skyline High School to start classes 15 minutes earlier
Students at Skyline High School will have to wake up 15 minutes earlier than their Pioneer and Huron peers this fall.
Skyline High School
Courtesy of AAPS
A savings of $266,400 was attached to the time change, driving the decision. Board members OK'd the switch in June, as part of $3.84 million in cuts and reductions to pass a balanced $188.5 million budget for fiscal year 2013.
Huron and Pioneer will continue to operate on a 7:40 a.m. to 2:37 p.m. schedule.
Community High School, in comparison, runs from 7:50 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. or 3:30 p.m., depending on a student’s block class schedule, and Ann Arbor Technological High School begins at 8:08 a.m. and gets out at 2:55 p.m.
Prior to the change, buses dropping off students at Skyline did not have enough time to turn around and cover the middle school routes, so two fleets of buses had to be used for some routes. Bumping up Skyline’s start time will allow the district to reduce the total number of buses run in each morning.
The new start time will not impact after-school sport or extracurricular times or participation, said District Spokeswoman Liz Margolis. She said the district has received some negative feedback about the change from parents.
The information about the earlier start was sent out in a letter to Skyline parents last week, in case they missed the discussion during the budget process in June. Bus stops, pick-up and drop-off times and other route information was posted this week on the district’s website.
All route information can be found starting on page 26 of the 2012-13 AAPS Back to School Guide, downloadable here.
School board members were not thrilled about making Skyline’s start time 15 minutes earlier. They conducted a hearty discussion on the topic in April and asked the administration to study it further and to explore the benefits and logistics of implementing a later start time for high-schoolers in Ann Arbor.
A number of national studies recently found that teenagers are predisposed to sleeping between the hours of 11 p.m. and 8 a.m. because of how and when teens produce melatonin. Melatonin is a chemical that, according to studies, makes teens “somewhat naturally night owls.”
Superintendent Patricia Green said researching start times still is on her radar to report back to the board on this school year. The report will be placed on a new, comprehensive and yearlong report calendar that is among her superintendent goals for the start of the 2012-13 year.
- Previous article: WITH POLL: Ann Arbor to study later high school start times
Danielle Arndt covers K-12 education for AnnArbor.com. Follow her on Twitter @DanielleArndt or email her at daniellearndt@annarbor.com.
Comments
YpsiVeteran
Sun, Aug 12, 2012 : 2:07 a.m.
Too bad student welfare once again is proven to have zero influence on decisions made by school boards. There's a flood of research that proves that high school kids benefit significantly from LATER school start times, in every measure of health and academic performance, not earlier ones. So, of course, we'll start school earlier. Pathetic.
Yuxuibbs DiNozzo
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 9:12 p.m.
When skyline started at 7:40, students had to wake up at around 6 am to make the bus (bus arrives at 6:50am, walking to the bus stop takes at least 10 minutes). Now students have to wake up at around 5:30 am when they have been up doing homework until about 2 am because of sports and other extra curricular activities. It's easier to make school start later so students don't sleep in class and get bad grades because they only get about 4 hours of sleep every night. At home right now, the student in elementary school wakes up at around 6am and the high school student wakes up around 8:30. The district needs to switch the elementary and high school start times.
DMBE
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 4:12 a.m.
It just seems ridiculous to have a kid of any age start school at 7:30am. I remember going through it as a high school student. I was a responsible teenager, but that starting time was absolutely painful. I realize the bus and activities schedules create challenges, but come on! My whole family's still sleeping at 7:30am.
StartSchoolLater
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 3:04 a.m.
This sad development is a good example of something happening all over the USA: although the research is crystal clear that starting high school in the 7 am hour harms teen health & learning, it's often impossible for even the best-intentioned districts to make that happen. The solution may require collective action on a national scale, and that's what we're trying to achieve at www.StartSchoolLater.net and through our national petition (tinyurl.com/82leprp). We encourage anyone concerned about this issue to join our efforts.
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 1:53 a.m.
What is the real economic impact of switching the starting times for high schools and elementary schools. I've seen the posts about switching could be good for those families with high school and elementary aged students. What about this type family, which is fairly typical. 2 parents who work 9-5 jobs and have two children, one in 3rd grade and one in first grade. Let's say school started at 7:40 for the elementary aged students and ended at 2:45. That parent now has to be up well before 6:00 am, have the students up roughly 6 to get ready, get them on the bus about 7, then has two hours to kill before being at work. The students would get done at 2:45 and arrive home around 3:30. Who would be available to watch the child for that hour and a half? Both parents are at work, so it would need to be a baby sitter. Who would the baby sitter be? It couldn't be a local high school student who is still in school. That means day care. The going rate per hour for daycare isn't cheap. 2 hours of day care, 5 days per week, 2 children, means a lot of money. You might be able to get away with skimping on the money paying a high school student, but they are not available, so you are looking at expensive day care for these children. The simple fact is switching the school schedule would not be good ecomonically for families of elementary aged children.
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 1:43 a.m.
Something in the comments needs to be addressed. Why do schools start early and end early. The reasons I've read and heard on this topic are: The teachers union wants it. (This is BS). Most teachers I know would not mind waking up later and staying later. Afterschool sports: It seems to fit the idea, but actually sports have nothing to do with why the school schedule is what it is. The actual reason the school day is the way it is goes back to the same reason the school year runs from Labor Day to roughly Memorial Day. It has to do with the work schedule of teenage students. When the times for the school day started, and when the school calander started it was based on when the students were least likely to be needed at home on the farm. Students go to school starting in the fall (much later than now, after the harvest), and stop school in the spring (much early than now, so they could help with planting). Education law eventually mandated a certain period of time for students to be in school. It is much easier to have students arrive early, and get out early, so there is daylight left for them to do chores when they get home. Several things have evolved based on this and have combined with the move from farms to urban and suburban schools. One is the afterschool job. Employers want school days running early because they can get more hours out of their afterschool workers. The later the school day, the less time these students have to work. There have been efforts in various areas to switch the schedules and the biggest opponent has been the local businesses who employee student workers during the school year. There is another factor as to why the days of elementary and high school students don't get switched. Parents would object. Those would be the parents of the elementary age students who would then have to have their students up earlier, on the way to school earlier and be picked up earlier. This would signficantly impact their work schedules.
Beth
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 1:55 a.m.
I agree that it would be hard to have elementary school start earlier. High school kids can get ready for school with minimal or no parental assistance; the same is not true of elementary students, especially young ones. It's hard enough to get me and my kids all ready for work and school and out the door in time as it is - I can't imagine trying to leave the house earlier. Not all parents need before and/ or afterschool care - some work part-time, are able to have 1 parent be home in the AM and 1 in the PM, etc. It seems like an earlier dismissal would make it more likely that more kids would need afterschool care. And yes, that's about what's easiest for parents. But my youngest needs at least 11 hours of sleep - he gets up at 7:15 right now. How early would his bedtime need to be if elementary school started earlier? Plenty of elementary kids are already up late with evening commitments - having them get up earlier wouldn't be pretty, either.
anotherannarborite
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 12:58 a.m.
Why not flip the elementary and high school start times? This would help with natural sleep patterns and help with families trying to arrange before school child care for elementary students (as it is most working parents need before and after school care for elementary students.
snoopdog
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : midnight
Insane to say the least ! All about what is convenient for the administrators and teachers , students as always come last. School should start no later than 8:30 am for high students. Good Day
hmsp
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 10:40 p.m.
@ boo, re: "Most of the games our schools play should be against the schools in south east michigan, no further than an hour away." Sorry, I don't make the schedules, so I can't help you there. But OK, plug in Bedford instead of Kalamazoo, and you're still off by about 4 hours with your, "kids can be home by 7 pm."
boo
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 4:09 a.m.
obviously I was referring to practice...... games are once or twice a week......
talker
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 10:07 p.m.
The amount of money saved is about equal to the annual salary for the school superintendent. The second in command could run school district without the superintendent, who, by the way, earns about the same amount as superintendents in larger districts. Even a district as large as complicated as Chicago pays their superintendent about the same amount as the Ann Arbor superintendent receives! Isn't the school district supposed to put students first?
hmsp
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 9:18 p.m.
I just realized that my "split the difference" compromise doesn't work unless the Middle and Elementary schools start 7 1/2 minutes later. Pioneer and Huron times evidently are not a part of the equation — their Middle and Elementary runs evidently seem to be timed about right.
hmsp
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 9:13 p.m.
@ MSU0284, re: "How is the 15 minute change going to save money for the district?" The article says, "Prior to the change, buses dropping off students at Skyline did not have enough time to turn around and cover the middle school routes, so two fleets of buses had to be used for some routes. Bumping up Skyline's start time will allow the district to reduce the total number of buses run in each morning." I did a stint as an AAPS bus driver about 40 years ago, and the routine was, as the article implies, drop off the HS students, do a JHS run, then do an Elementary run. And some routes would go straight from the HS drop-off to start a long, rural Elementary run. The key is staggered start times so that the drivers can do multiple runs. The most expensive system, of course, would be to have all schools start at the same time. That would necessitate hiring two-to-three times as many drivers.
A2comments
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:46 p.m.
And two to three times as many buses...
MSU0284
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 8:55 p.m.
How is the 15 minute change going to save money for the district? Did I miss some explanation of where the money saved will come from?
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:03 a.m.
Bussing. The money saved will come from a change in the bussing schedules. The location and timing of the Skyline day previously did not allow those bus drivers to serve a middle school route as well. Now the busses will finish the high school route for Skyline and be able to work middle school routes as well. This will lead to a reduced need to busses, and bus drivers to complete the task of transporting students to and from school. The cost reduction is from both labor and supplies. There likely will also be some savings from fuel as well, although that is likely not a significant factor.
aaparent
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:36 p.m.
The early start times for all the comprehensive high schools are a different issue than this plan to change Skyline's start times to be in line with Huron and Pioneer. I think high school should start later for all the schools. But for now, I support Skyline having the same start and end times as the other comprehensive high school buildings. Skyline already has a different program and schedule. It has trimesters and days off that different than the other buildings. If the school has a larger number of students in the comprehensive high school than the magnet, it should have the same bell schedule as Huron and Pioneer. Is this correct: Teachers at Skyline have 4 classes a day to teach and one planning period since the trimesters give students 5 class hours a day, but the other high schools require teachers to teach 5 or 6 classes a day and have one planning period because in a semester school, there are 6 or an optional 7 class hours a day?
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:01 a.m.
One thing to remember about the days, hours, ect of both students and teachers is that school days don't matter. There is no requirement that students be in school for X number of days. The requirements are that students be in school for X number of HOURS. There are also requirements for classes to be taught for X number of hours for students to get credit. One school can have class meet for 90 days at 55 minutes each (4950 minutes), while another school can have a class meet for 83 minutes for 60 days (4980 minutes). The difference in schedule between the teachers is also made up in various ways. The teachers at Skyline may get an extra 28 minutes per day in planning time, but that time is made up throughout the year. There are plenty of days that Pioneer and Huron teachers are not working, while Skyline teachers are. You had better believe the teachers union would not allow teachers at one high school to be getting significantly more time off than teachers at other schools. One way the schedule can be made up, that I personally have seen is teachers who "team" teach one trimester instead of having a planning period 1 hour each of the 3 trimesters. That means they are basically working full days one third of the year, which makes up hours. I don't recall if Skyline does this or not.
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:58 p.m.
You are correct! Teachers at skyline each teach 4 classes a day and 1 planning period compared to the other high schools (Pioneer and Huron) who have teach 6 classes and have 1 planning period.
hmsp
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:12 p.m.
@ boo, re: "Sports don't need to start until 4:30 and kids can be home by 7 pm." It is a pity that sports dominate the schedule so much, but that's the way it is. So let's do the math. With school out at 4:00, as you propose: 4:15 — Bus leaves for Kalamazoo (for instance) 5:45 — Bus arrives in Kalamazoo 6:00 — JV game (soccer, for instance) starts 7:30 — JV game over 7:45 — Varsity game starts 9:15 — Varsity game over 9:30 — Bus leaves for Ann Arbor 11:00 — Bus arrives in Ann Arbor 11:45 — Last kid arrives at his/her home That time-line is probably cutting it unrealistically close, actually. I have a 17-yr-old son right now who plays a lot of sports, so I am very aware of how much time that takes up. I am also aware of his natural circadian rhythms, which have him sleeping until well after noon in the summertime, unless I intervene. I would love to see HS start at 9:00, but for one thing, it would have to happen on a state-wide basis. And two, even then, scheduling after-school sports would be incredibly challenging. I frankly don't know what the answer is, but in this specific case, I would lean towards starting the other two schools later, or at least splitting that 15-minute difference, with Skyline starting only 7 1/2 minutes earlier.
Basic Bob
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 5:55 a.m.
It does not put students in a "questionable" position to play inner city schools. It is important part of the experience as student athletes to meet people with different experiences. (there are NOT different kinds of people)
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:26 a.m.
In response to Boo and Basic Bob. If you think scheduling is that simple I would suggest you go to the athletic office at the schools and offer to help them schedule. You can find opponents for these sports that are available to play, and are willing to play. It isn't as simple to find opponents will and available to play as you think. It depends on the opponents schedule, which is often impacted by their conference schedule which they don't control. It is worse for a school and a sport that is sucessful. When you are successful you often find a number of schools who will not agree to play you. Why would they want to get beat up. You also have the issue of the level of competition you play and the size of the schools. Would Pioneer really gain anything by playing Whitmore Lake or Manchester? Would those schools gain anything? Even the Class A schools that are nearby need to bring something to the table as a reason to play them. Do you really want to go to Detroit to play Pershing or Mumford, which might be within an hour, but could also put student athletes in a questionable position. Trust me, AD's do try to find local competition as much as they can, but it is not as simple as it may seem to people outside of athletics. This has become a focus as budgets have been tightened. The AAPS schools are contractually obligated to play certain opponents as members of the conference such as Monroe and Bedford. The conference sets the schedule so the schools have little control over the schedule. One final thing to consider. Your schedules levels of teams may impact scheduling. If your opponent has freshman, JV and Varsity teams in a sport, but your school doesn't have freshman or even JV (Huron Softball), it makes scheduling more difficult. Teams try keeping levels together when possible. When you can't compete in 3 levels of a sport you are less likely to be a scheduling partner for a school with 3 levels of that sport.
chapmaja
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:16 a.m.
Let's talk about the sports schedule, which really doesn't dominate school scheduling as much as people thing. First, the schedules comes in two forms, the conference and non-conference schedule. The conference schedule for the AAPS schools is generally games with Monroe, Bedford, Saline, Pioneer, Skyline and Huron. These are the divisional opponents that each school every year. The non-divisional opponents are Tecumseh, Adrian, Chelsea, Dexter, Lincoln and Ypsi. These schools may or may not be played in a season. The scheduling all depends on the sport. Some sports are scheduled so that teams play once per year, others play twice per season, once at each school. There is only limited time and space available for scheduling. What I have seen is that the schools do try to schedule games closer to home when possible for weeknights, and longer trips for Friday's because it is not a school night. That is only possible in some sports and with some games. The ability to schedule non-conference games is much easier than scheduling conference games. Those games basically are scheduled in line with facility availability and location of the opponents. It is easy to say a team should play only schools within 1 hour, however in reality it isn't that simple. Scheduling requires two parties to come to an agreement. Many schools don't want to play Pioneer because they are very good in a sport. That means Pioneer would need to find opponents farther away to compete with because nobody outside the conference wants to play them. Why do you think Pioneer traditionally played a football team from Canada each year. At the time it was difficult to get a local opponent to play. The simple fact remains that sports don't actually play a significant role in the schedule of the school day, but would be heavily impacted if the day changed. The changing of the school day schedule would likely have costly increases for schools in many sports.
Basic Bob
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 10:25 p.m.
If you can't arrange quality opponents within 45 minutes from the school, you have an ego problem.
boo
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 10:07 p.m.
We'll, any AD who schedules a game AT Kalamzoo on a school night should be fired. Most of the games our schools play should be against the schools in south east michigan, no further than an hour away.
hmsp
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:10 p.m.
@ Mike, re: "... the teachers union will not stand for it. They like being on their way home at 3:00 pm." You couldn't be more misinformed! It is common knowledge that transportation and sports are the two biggest factors in setting school hours. And as for, "being on their way home at 3:00 pm," my wife is a teacher, and despite being allowed by contract to leave the building at 3:30 (not 3:00), that only happens if, say, she has a doctor's appointment. The rest of the time, she rarely is able to get away until well after 5:00.
alan
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
Please reference the source of the common knowledge that you speak of. My experience, from talking to administrators and teachers, and attending public meetings, has been that times have been consistently moved up for 20 years or more because parents have to leave for work and need to see that their kid gets off to school or drive them there themselves.
towncryer
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 6:03 p.m.
Seems like this might be one of those penny-wise pound foolish situations? We all know where $266 thousand could have been found. Hint: begins with 'A' and ends in 'dministration'
Stephen Landes
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:59 p.m.
I remember when my children were in high school that for a reason I cannot remember they started school substantially later for about a week. And, for a bout a week both of my children were happier about school. Both were athletes and none of this had any impact that I can recall on after school activities. I think starting High School after elementary school would be good for children of all ages and particularly those in homes where both parents have to work. If High Schoolers could leave the house after the younger children have gone to school then they could not only get the sleep they need, but could care for their younger siblings as well -- better, safer, healthier for all concerned.
anotherannarborite
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 1:02 a.m.
Brilliant!
PhillyCheeseSteak
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:23 p.m.
In past years, my student caught a school bus at Pioneer H.S. that took her to Skyline H.S. There were no stops after leaving Pioneer and the ride was about 15 minutes. This year they have eliminated the bus from Pioneer to Skyline and have a new bus route, called the "SKYLINE OPEN ENROLLMENT PROGRAM" which will pick-up students at Pioneer at 6:15 a.m. to get them to Skyline by 7:30 a.m. Yes, you read that right - 6:15 am. That is just wrong, in so many ways.
A2comments
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:44 p.m.
Just to be clear, you are in the Pioneer District but you choose to have your child go to Skyline, correct?
rougehuron
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:28 p.m.
I attended Plymouth-Canton schools in the 90's and had to leave the house by 6am to catch the bus, when I finally figured out that I could sleep an extra 1/2 hour by just biking the couple miles there. Never made sense to me why the high schools started so early.
Rob Pollard
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:04 p.m.
What a dumb, short-sighted decision. The entire nation is finally, slowly, moving towards the more beneficial for students later start times, and AAPS moves Skyline the other way. I am not impressed with this Supt. Patricia Green.
Jon Saalberg
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 4:30 p.m.
I would love to know how many parents of teenagers there are in that 38% that approves of this plan - not the majority, I bet. Getting a teenager up in the morning is not one of life's joys. Furthermore, it seems readily apparent that teens do not function particularly well in the morning - forcing them to get up even earlier seems like a poorly thought out plan that will exacerbate academic and tardiness issues.
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:53 p.m.
Trut me, it is VERY hard to get me up at 6 am every morning for school. In 1st hour, all the kids are lethargic, while in 5th hour all the kids are very noisy and refuse to quiet down. Kids are typically not morning people, so getting up even earlier is the best way?!?!?!
Gardener1
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 2:50 p.m.
How are the other high schools able to do their routes without starting high school earlier? Has anyone thought about the high school drivers being on the roads at 7:00 am to get to school on time? Does the board of education really care about whether or not students attend school? Those students taking AATA to school will have a more difficult time.
bear
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 2:40 p.m.
How does the earlier start time, affect those students who have selected Skyline as a school of choice? Are they still able to catch a bus to their home high school and continue on to Skyline, or was that additional busing part of the budget cuts?
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:50 p.m.
OMG are you serious @PhillyCheeseSteak?!?!? I took the bus from Pioneer to Skyline every monring! The new plan is ridicious! who is going to get up before 6 am for school?!?!? Looks like my parents will be driving me to school this year. You are right, the Skyline Open Enrollment Program is wrong in soo many ways. It is hard enough to be meet the bus at Pioneer at 7:20 every morning, now have to get up at 6 and be at skyline by 7:30 is going to be very interesting.
Barb's Mom
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:15 p.m.
If you choose for your student to go to a school of choice, you should be responsible for getting them there. It is your choice. Go to the neighborhood school and take the bus or go to a differnt school and no buses.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:21 p.m.
In past years, my student caught a school bus at Pioneer H.S. that took her to Skyline H.S. There were no stops after leaving Pioneer and the ride was about 15 minutes. This year they have eliminated the bus from Pioneer to Skyline and have a new bus route, called the "SKYLINE OPEN ENROLLMENT PROGRAM" which will pick-up students at Pioneer at 6:15 a.m. to get them to Skyline by 7:30 a.m. Yes, you read that right - 6:15 am. That is just wrong, in so many ways.
boo
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 2:39 p.m.
Maybe now Skyline will pass AYP..... So much for the failed Skyline experiment. The district wasted millions on this building and all the associated cost with operating this school. Huron and Pioneer should be the only comprehensive schools in Ann Arbor. I know thats an old argument...... still true though! And if the superintendent follows the advice of national research on this topic, school wont begin for any student in AA before 8:30 am. Elementary 8:30-3:30, Middle school 8:45-3:45 and high school 9:00-4:00. Sports don't need to start until 4:30 and kids can be home by 7 pm.
Basic Bob
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 2:22 p.m.
This was acceptable because it doesn't affect Burns Park residents.
alan
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 1:52 p.m.
Schools that start at 9:00 show dramatic improvements in student achievement. School schedules should not be made for the convenience of adults.
PhillyCheeseSteak
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:12 p.m.
amen to that!
babmay11
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 1:10 p.m.
This is ridiculous, if they were going to change the start time, at least why not make it consistent with the other 2 high schools. They should be going in the opposite direction and making it a later start time, the research shows it is better for teens. Once again, NOT driven by what is best for students, but because of transportation and after-school activities. Priorities are not straight on this one.
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:46 p.m.
Amen! Could not have said it better myself @babmay11!
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
It WAS consistent before! skyline starts at 7:45, huron and pioneer start at 7:40
A2Girl63
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 2:16 p.m.
For petes sake babmay11, Skyline has been able to do what they want from day they opened they do not operate on semsters like the other high schools why should they start at the same time.
Bulldog
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:55 p.m.
Transportation "drives" this district In more ways than one! Try arranging a field trip!
jns131
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 6:02 p.m.
Still trying to get drivers for field trips. A lot of things do go wrong. Good luck with that one.
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.
They are moving in the wrong direction. Science shows clearly that circadian rhythms change in "adolescence" shifting the natural sleep cycle of teenagers. If the schools actually cared about students as their #1 priority they would bump the start time of high school to somewhere around 9:30 or 10:00. The science says as much. But in reality, despite the mantra, whats best for the student is well down the priority list.
Susie Q
Sat, Aug 11, 2012 : 2:40 a.m.
I don't think the AAPS was prepared to make such a radical changes as switching the elementary and high school start times for the 2012-13 school year. They have an entirely new central administrative instructional team. It would be difficult for AAPS to have a later starting time for our high schools when all their athletic competitors have the early start times. But the teachers' union is NOT the reason this might not ever happen.....that is the silliest thing I have ever read on this topic. And I do agree that most of the articles I have read on this DO support the start time switch.
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
Could not agree more! Going to bed at 11 pm or later as most high school students do and then getting out of bed at around 6 am is not enough sleep!
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:42 p.m.
@Mick52, it is not that we don't WANT to go to bed early, it is that we can't because we are up late studying or doing homework. Trust me, if I could go to bed at 10 pm I would! I prefer that to going to bed at 11pm or later every night and then have to get up at 6 am every morning to get ready for school. There are many studies that prove that if elementary schools and high schools switch times!From the standpoint of circadian rhythms, and statistically proven improvements in student performance. (Taken from Alarictoo's post...all credit to him/her
alarictoo
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 6:03 p.m.
Actually, @Mick, the research on this is very sound. It would make more sense to have the 20+ elementary schools start earlier, and the middle and high schools start later. From the standpoint of circadian rhythms, and statistically proven improvements in student performance. However, @Beth makes a strong point. The real driving force behind keeping these grades coming in earlier are extra-curricular activities. It would be an interesting thought to pursue the idea of moving extra-curriculars to the early morning hours, and start school a couple hours later. I wonder how much that would erode participation in extra-curricular activities?
Mick52
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:51 p.m.
I have heard this but I think it is baloney. Parents need to get their kids to behave, participate in the progress of their kids and get them to bed early.
leaguebus
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 4:01 p.m.
http://austinist.com/2012/06/27/texas_republican_party_seeks_ban_on.php Sorry, missed the end in my post.
leaguebus
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 4 p.m.
Do like the Republikans did in Texas, put a plank in the party platform to ban critical thinking. If you don't believe it, check the link below. http://austinist.com/2012/06/27/texas_republican_party_seeks_ban_on.php
Middle America
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 1:16 p.m.
Mike is right. We should blame teachers. How about this, you liberals, we should fire all the teachers and burn all the textbooks. The only book we need is the Bible, liberals, America, etc...
Beth
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:47 p.m.
Mike, for goodness' sake - this is NOT driven by teachers! Early start times for high schools are driven by afterschool activities, most notably sports.
Mike
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:21 p.m.
This is a fact, but the teachers union will not stand for it. They like being on their way home at 3:00 pm. Who can blame them? The schools are not run by the communities they serve. If they were we wouldn't have all of these unsustainable contract liabilities which we are unable to pay and our students would have better teachers and learn more. We'll still be discussing the achievement gap and our falling educational ranking in the world many years from now because this isn't going to change anytime soon.
Martin
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:08 p.m.
When the author of the article says, in the third paragraph, "A price tag of $266,400 was attached to the time change, driving the decision," it sounds like she is saying that this change will cost the school district more money. Reading the rest of the article, it is implied that this represents a savings. This should be clarified. Is the change in start time for Skyline expected to save money or cost more?
AAPS Student
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 7:36 p.m.
The start time is "going to save money"
Julie Baker
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:50 p.m.
Thanks for the feedback. We've recast that paragraph to reflect that it's an expected savings.
Mike
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:03 p.m.
Studies show that students do better academically with a later start time. So, how is this going to help the achievement gap?
jns131
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 6 p.m.
The achievement gap needs to start on the preschool level. The Chicago mayor finally is getting this one right by spending some money on this project. Now everyone else needs to do the same to narrow this gap.
leaguebus
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 3:55 p.m.
The literature says that the later starting students do 20% better. For the lower kids on the totem pole, this is significant.
brian123
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 1:51 p.m.
Agreed. Just watched a TED talk about this, and how our school systems are setup for industrial era education and cost efficiency, rather than tailored for what is best for teenagers and their bodies (e.g., circadian rhythm)/attention spans, and most effective for educating them.
Myles
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 1:49 p.m.
That explains so much because Ypsilanti schools start at 7:20 am
Craig Lounsbury
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:11 p.m.
I was thinking the same thing with regard to start times and sleep patterns.
Sarah
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 10:13 a.m.
Too bad prospective teacher applicants haven't got an early call for teaching positions. Gosh who do you have to bake for to get an interview for an A2 school job?
jns131
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 5:57 p.m.
I have seen subs fill in for teachers only to become long term subs and eventual teachers. So you might want to get on that sub list and take whatever becomes available.
JRW
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 4:44 p.m.
Good luck getting an interview or a job in AAPS unless you have a relative already working in the district, did your student teaching in the district, and are newly graduated with no experience, hence cheap to hire. There are teachers who have done long term sub positions, all the work associated with the position, done an excellent job, but no dice when it comes to filling that position. You need connections to get into AAPS.
drewk
Fri, Aug 10, 2012 : 12:16 p.m.
Ann Arbor Schools typically informs potential candidates about 48 hours before school starts. This is known from experience.