The superintendent is proposing a shifting elementary school start times to 720am to allow for a 9am start time for high school students. This would result in a 645 bus pickup times and school would end at 210pm. This will cause families across the district to change their work and child care arrangement to accommodate and have a negative impact on elementary student outcomes. For more information, please see the following letter sent to the school board by a concerned parent.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_33eIExymsoU1VJb...
Please sign the petition to let the school board know that we don't feel our littlest learners education should be jeopardized for what are marginal benefits of high schoolers.
Updates
September 23, 2015
Seeing five hundred names on this list feels heavy because it proves I am not the only parent terrified by these proposed bus schedules. My own children are already struggling with the idea of waking up in the dark and this response shows just how many of our families are facing that same disruption.
Reached 500 supporters
September 22, 2015
September 22, 2015
Seeing this kind of movement confirms that so many of you are just as worried as I am about our youngest children waiting for buses in the dark. It feels like the district is finally starting to feel the pressure we are putting on them.
September 19, 2015
Seeing one hundred people recognize how punishing these early bus times would be for our youngest kids gives me so much hope. My own children deserve a schedule that actually supports their learning rather than just shuffling them out the door before the sun is up.
Reached 100 supporters
September 18, 2015
247 Comments
All school age children should be allowed reasonable start times, ones that fit biological needs, working family schedules, and lives outside of the school/work day. I will happily pay for added bussing. Private school may become an even more attractive option.
My 3rd grader goes to bed at 7:45pm for late start elementary. If she gets moved to early start she would need to be in bed by 5:45pm and I would barely make it home to say goodnight. This is crazy to think about starting the kids who need the most sleep the earliest!
Please keep the timings of elementary school as is, changing time puts enormous amount of stress in young children and families, this will also put young kids away from parents for a long time which is not good for the development.
Thank you for organizing this petition! Our family agrees 100% that the direct flip can't work unless all start times are reasonable and so do the experts at the National Sleep Foundation. We must make evidence based decisions for ALL students in the district.
It is plain ridiculous to have elementary kids to be at the bus stop so so early in a winter state. Not sure what sleep patterns are being researched but this is just not acceptable. The bus pick up time should not be earlier than 8 am for these kids.
No child, be it elementary, middle school, or high school, should be asked to be at school before 8am. Elementary children need 11-13 hours of sleep, more sleep than is needed by middle school or high school; as a result, it is especially ridiculous that we are asking the students that need the most sleep to get the least amount of sleep. It will cause daycare issues and additional expenses. It will cause safety issues having such little children outside so early in this MN weather. It will mean some children with working parents will spend over TEN hours at school. It will put children with chronic health problems (ADD, ADHD, epilepsy, etc.) at higher risk since studies have proven that sleep is crucial for these children.
If 6am is too early for a high school student who needs 9 hours of sleep to be awake, then it would without question be too early for an elementary student who needs 13 hours of sleep. If later start times are beneficial for the high school that's fine, but we cannot offer our youngest children up as a sacrifice.
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The superintendent is proposing a shifting elementary school start times to 720am to allow for a 9am start time for high school students. This would result in a 645 bus pickup times and school would end at 210pm. This will cause families across the district to change their work and child care arrangement to accommodate and have a negative impact on elementary student outcomes. For more information, please see the following letter sent to the school board by a concerned parent.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_33eIExymsoU1VJb...
Please sign the petition to let the school board know that we don't feel our littlest learners education should be jeopardized for what are marginal benefits of high schoolers.
Updates
September 23, 2015
Seeing five hundred names on this list feels heavy because it proves I am not the only parent terrified by these proposed bus schedules. My own children are already struggling with the idea of waking up in the dark and this response shows just how many of our families are facing that same disruption.
Reached 500 supporters
September 22, 2015
September 22, 2015
Seeing this kind of movement confirms that so many of you are just as worried as I am about our youngest children waiting for buses in the dark. It feels like the district is finally starting to feel the pressure we are putting on them.
September 19, 2015
Seeing one hundred people recognize how punishing these early bus times would be for our youngest kids gives me so much hope. My own children deserve a schedule that actually supports their learning rather than just shuffling them out the door before the sun is up.
Reached 100 supporters
September 18, 2015
247 Comments
We purchased our home by carefully analyzing the school start/end times. We looked at Minnetonka and Orono but decided on Plymouth/Wayzata. This is a fundamental shift and I would have never moved into this district knowing this.
All school age children should be allowed reasonable start times, ones that fit biological needs, working family schedules, and lives outside of the school/work day. I will happily pay for added bussing. Private school may become an even more attractive option.
My 3rd grader goes to bed at 7:45pm for late start elementary. If she gets moved to early start she would need to be in bed by 5:45pm and I would barely make it home to say goodnight. This is crazy to think about starting the kids who need the most sleep the earliest!
Please keep the timings of elementary school as is, changing time puts enormous amount of stress in young children and families, this will also put young kids away from parents for a long time which is not good for the development.
Thank you for organizing this petition! Our family agrees 100% that the direct flip can't work unless all start times are reasonable and so do the experts at the National Sleep Foundation. We must make evidence based decisions for ALL students in the district.
It is plain ridiculous to have elementary kids to be at the bus stop so so early in a winter state. Not sure what sleep patterns are being researched but this is just not acceptable. The bus pick up time should not be earlier than 8 am for these kids.
No child, be it elementary, middle school, or high school, should be asked to be at school before 8am. Elementary children need 11-13 hours of sleep, more sleep than is needed by middle school or high school; as a result, it is especially ridiculous that we are asking the students that need the most sleep to get the least amount of sleep. It will cause daycare issues and additional expenses. It will cause safety issues having such little children outside so early in this MN weather. It will mean some children with working parents will spend over TEN hours at school. It will put children with chronic health problems (ADD, ADHD, epilepsy, etc.) at higher risk since studies have proven that sleep is crucial for these children.
If 6am is too early for a high school student who needs 9 hours of sleep to be awake, then it would without question be too early for an elementary student who needs 13 hours of sleep. If later start times are beneficial for the high school that's fine, but we cannot offer our youngest children up as a sacrifice.
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We purchased our home by carefully analyzing the school start/end times. We looked at Minnetonka and Orono but decided on Plymouth/Wayzata. This is a fundamental shift and I would have never moved into this district knowing this.