|
School start times: Do you think a three-tiered school start time is a good idea?
| 36.84% |
Yes, it's a good idea |
|
| 63.15% |
No, it's a bad idea |
|
Comment: I think its a great idea. most teens work late shifts and early school times are hard on them. from pensacola Fl. by Dannette
Comment: Well, I am a student at Pace High School, and I believe that the bus system, is a good idea, if the we are looking to save money, but, I think they should change the times in which each schools would start. If we put high schools, as starting at 7:15, no job, or sports conflicts would arise, because it's close to the time, most schools start now. Then, you could put elementary schools in one of the later times, and you wouldn't have to worry aboout them not getting enough sleep, or being outside, waiting for the bus in the dark. from Pace, Florida by Farrah
Comment: No, this is not good for the kids. They need to cut some of the assistance in the schools. from Pace FL by Paula
Comment: It is, at least for the high school students. As for the elementary students the only thing I would be worried about is the time they would have to be at the bus stop. Studies have shown that high school students do much better when they start school at a later time and elementary students do better with an earlier start. High school students' brains change and they are unable to get to sleep at an early time and dont wake up completely until later in the morning. We need to do whatever we can to help our students do better in school and for high school students that is starting later. If they started later I dont think it would disrupt their after school activities, those could be rearranged to fit their schedule. I wish that when my child was in high school she could have started later, she had such a hard time going to sleep at night and a hard time waking up no matter what time she went to sleep. Many people are so afraid of change but this change could really do these students a world of good if implemented. from Gulf Breeze, FL by Rachel
Comment: I drive a school bus for the northend, and I have picked up elementary children at 5:30am the kids are able to sleep on the bus to school and on the way home. The school I drive for have had EXCELLENT test scores for every grade the past 5 years. Obviously, our children have not missed out on sleep. Not to mention, they get home earlier and are able to play outside during the daylight! from Milton, FL by Tammy
Comment: IT SHOULD HAVE STARTED LAST YEAR HERE IN PENSACOLA, IT WOULD SAVE MONEY BY USING LESS BUS DRIVERS. ELEMENTARY FIRST BECAUSE THEY WAKE UP EARLIEST THEN MIDDLE SCHOOL AND FINALLY HIGH SCHOOL SINCE THEY ARE THE HARDEST TO GET GOING IN THE MORNING. from PENSACOLA by STEWART
Comment: Why not send the high school first. The little ones would get their sleep and the older kids would have their afternoons. from Pace, FL. by Capt..
Comment: this is bad idea. My child is in High School and this makes it hard for them to have after school activites. This also maked it difficult for those kids whom have to work, to get any hours in during week and compete there school work. by Rhonda
Comment: I think its a bad idea little kids should go later and older kids earlier so parents can then get older kids home to care for these younger kids instead of lineing the pockets of daycares we have enough expense we dont need more if you have to go to a three teir system it should be oldest to youngest these little kids will in bed at 6 at night and up at the crack of dawn kids will walk the halls as zombies great system from milton by m
Comment: I will have a child in elementary school and a child in high school. The school board is going to create a huge jump in latch key kids because of the disparity in these schedules. I have to mold my work schedule around my kids bus schedules and I have no idea how I will be able to do that next year. I am panicking over this insane idea! Please don't do this! from Milton, Florida by John
Comment: Given the other alternatives to save the needed money this is better than cutting classroom postions. Parents still have the option to take their childern to school if they don't want them waiting for the bus that early. from milton by d
Comment: I understand the need for financial cut backs to help SRC but the 3 tier system is not the way to go. Parents today work full-time and most of us have to be at work between 7:00 and 8:00a.m.. This system will prevent us from ensuring that our children will arrive at school safely whether this is via bus or driving them their ourselves. For parents with younger children, this system will make some parents enroll their children into before school programs, which cost money, and with an already declining economy this will put further unneeded financial pressures on families.
THe afternoon schedule will prevent kids from being able to particpate in after school or community activities. Kids need activities to keep them active and the obesity rate down and taking this time in the afternoon will preventing them from having the extra time to play and exercise. from Pace, FL by Audrey
Comment: I remember there being 3 different start times when I was growing up (in the 60's and early 70's) and I am part of the baby boom generation. I have 2 older brothers and one younger and there is about 4 years age difference between each child. This seemed to work out quite well as the older kids were up and out of the house first as they could do more for themselves. By the time the younger ones had to leave there was plenty of light to allow for better visibility. The only real complaint that I could see would be from more traffic problems as there would be a longer time of school zones being active. However, as they are different schools it really should not matter. I say we should be doing all we can to save money on fuel and if that means having fewer bus drivers (which would save even more money) that just means there would be more money to pay teacher salaries and buy supplies. from Crestview, Florida by Doug
Comment: I am a high schooler, just one of the many of thousands of students who must suffer with this system next year. The thing is being a student and having to go to school around 7hrs. a day 5 days a week is bad enough with barly having any time at home, doing homework, going to sleep, and then repeating the cycle again the next day. Right now I start at 8:15 and get out at 2:45. To be honest, I'd much rather go to school about 7:30 and get out sooner. And now, with this new sytstem, I'll be getting out at 3:50 p.m. So that's only about an hour later, and yes I get to sleep in, but in the long run I'll have less time at home and will be up starting and finishing my home work (right now I usually finish my home work around 10:00 p.m., and that's with coming right home and starting on my homework). That extra hour at school each day may not seem like a long time, but when you're a student, every minute counts, especially for those who work jobs after school. What's worse is that all this may have all been able to be avoided if gas prices were lower and the property tax reduction hadn't been voted in. But now the people who have the least amount of control over these issues, must suffer the consequences of others choices. My dad suggested a great solution to this probelem, have all the schools: elematary, middle, and high, start at the same time, maybe around 8, and have the buses pick up only at one time for all levels of school. This way everyone wins in the long run, and you end up saving even more gas!!! from Milton, Fl. by Esther
Comment: I am not in favor of this 3 tiered
system. Next year, I will have children
at each level (primary, intermediate,
middle and high schools). They are
not in favor either. Next year, my 2
younger children will start school at
the time we are getting out of bed
now. They need about 10 hours of
sleep per night and they already go to
bed at 8:30pm. My middle schooler
(next yr in high school) likes his early
school time because he does better on
about 7 hours per night which means
he would go to bed at 2am. When
does his new school time allow for
homework/projects when Navarre
library is now closed on the weekends,
at 4pm on Fridays. What about sports,
jobs, homework? He'll be getting
home from school when the others are
going to bed. Not a good idea for any
of us. Don't agree....hate it! from Navarre, Florida by Jennifer
Comment: Yes, these are tough financial times, but this change at what cost? Little ones at bus stops in the dark, high schoolers going home in the dark, just how much is a child's life worth? Not to mention a possible breakfast (early drop-off) program at the elementary school to accomodate parents' unchangeable work schedules, in addition to extra money needed for after school care. These are just a few arguements against this three-tiered time schedule that come to mind at the moment. I'm sure parents and teachers alike can come up with alot more reasons to not change the current schedule. Why weren't the parents even given a say in this drastic change that will effect more than just school start and finish times? I don't think too many people actually are happy at all with this change. from gulfbreeze by karen
Comment: I think the three tiered schedule is a bad idea agreeing with all the above stated as well as I think the truency problem will become worse because the high school children will get involved with computer and tv and miss the bus, also have the oppurtunity of falling back to sleep..The elementary students coming home in the afternoon are going to be left alone longer as well. I think the county should look at the routes and maybe combine the schools to ride together. The older students would be able to help with the unruly elementary. from Milton, Florida by Stephanie
Comment: It's unreasonable for parents with young children, who can't be left home alone (due to later school start) while parents must get to work early in the a.m. from Pensacola by Tara
Comment: no i think its a bad idea my daughter works after school and she might lose her job because of this, because her job don't have the shifts she will need with this change. she is very upset about it. and i thought the flordia was there for school to have extra funds? it really makes you wonder where the money is going. and to lay people off,when its already hard around here with rent and gas going up.i will sign the petition with no problem. from navarre fl by april
Comment: the students that have jobs will loose them during school time because of the timeing! from navarre/FL by Jessica
Comment: The commonsense thing to do would be to start the high schools at the early time and the elementary schools at the later time. from Navarre FL by Shannon
Comment: 9:15 is late to send our daughter to school. She is handicap and can not be left alone. My husband has a landscape business and he drops her off each day. It will make his day start really late and will hurt us finacially!!! Seems like they are not thinking about the parents and their jobs. In the long run it will hurt the economy. from Pensacola, FL by Kim
Comment: It is a good idea to save money however changing the high school to 9:15 is a bad idea they could make the high school at 7:15, elementary at 8:15 and middle at 9:15 with the new start time all sports activites will have practice at 6:45 in the morning and when the games start they teams will have to leave school early to get to Escambia County for the games. This will be a way to save money with the least change. from Pace, Florida by S
Comment: These parents that are complaining had an opportunity to face the school board, and voice how they felt how it last week. No one showed up, but a very few, one or two who supported the change and a couple who were against it. Now that it has been voted on the public wants to complain about it. Would you rather lose teachers or have the money cut else where?? Think about what is more important in YOUR child's education!!!! from Pace by Gwen
Comment: I am all for the new starting times if this keeps more teachers in the classroom. from Gulf Breeze/FL by Jill
Comment: I don't have kids affected by this but have family members that are affected. Yes, times are tough right now but making it harder for parents to get to work and keep a job because they can't be on time to make sure kids get on the bus. As well as impose more difficulty on high schoolers ability to work afternoon and evening is not a bright idea. Yes, it may save money on the front end but will cost many more on the back end. This plan and it's impact on the public whom it is supppossed to serve doesn't seem to be well thought out. from pensacola, fl by robert
Comment: I think it is a very bad idea. As it is right now, my 9 year old daughter catches the bus at 6:25 a.m. If they start a half hour earlier, she will be getting on the bus at 5:55 and that is just crazy. She goes to bed at 7:30 PM just to ensure she has enough sleep having to get up at 5:30 already.
If they would cut some unnecessary school board jobs and stop paying the school board members 3 digit income, there would be more money for the schools and our childrens education. from Milton, Fl by Denise
Comment: The times for the elementary and high school need to be reversed. As it currently stands, this is a very poorly thought out plan that was passed without input from the parents that would be involved. If this had been allowed to be debated by the school board, I don't think this schedule would have been passed. Why can't the high school and elementary schedules be reversed. from pace/florida by michael
Comment: Please verify the new start times. I believe that the Middle Schools are first at 7:15, then Elem. at 8:15 then High at 9:15 from Gulf Breeze, Florida by Jill
Comment: I think that this is a terrible idea. I have a 5 year son who will starting kindergarten in the fall and the thought of having to get him up at 5:30 in the morning for school is an outrage! Small children need their sleep! If anything must change then I think the most logical solution would be to switch the elementary and high school schedules. The older kids can function better in the early hours and it also allows for them to continue with after school jobs and activities. This new idea would have devastating effects on the children if it stays the way that it is. As a concerned parent, I would hope that this plan would be reconsidered thoroughly. Thank you. from Milton by Laurie
Comment: I disagree with the Three Tier system. I personally spoke with Ms. Simpson by phone a few days before this was going to be voted on at their board meeting.It seemed like she had her mind made up no matter I said. If we had no other choice in saving money, than maybe it would be good, but I'm also upset about how our local school board did not make this public until the last minute. This will have a huge impact on the high school kids after school lives. Although education is the most important aspect of school, but anyone planning on attending a good college should have some after school activities which makes them well rounded. This will have a huge impact on their schedules. Also for the students who work in the afternoon. Many of these kids will probably have little or no other time other than school and homework. I don't believe the new time will allow the high school kids to sleep longer like Ms. Simpson quoted to me in our conversation either. The only kids who might be able to do this are the ones who don't make the grades now and who will probably stay up later and possibly risk more crime by staying out later at night.
The well rounded kids will have to wake up early and some will definitely have their practices and meetings prior to school due to the schedule change and than attend school on day.
Elementary kids will be at either day care longer since they'll be getting out of school at 1:45 if their parents work. Or these parents will have to leave work early to pick them up. What happens to the jobs of those parents? Wait until winter comes and those kids are out waiting for a bus at 5:30-6:00 am. Do you know how cold it is and dark? That's fair to those parents-right school board? Majority of those kids do not sit on a bus that long now and have no business sleeping on a bus to and from school.
Bottom line is if the school board had properly put this to a vote to the public whom they get paid to represent, it would have saved us all a lot of unnecessary worry and stress. They did not represent any of us well. If this is absolutely necessary than change the times to closely represent the kids times they attend school now. (Example:
High school @7:15, Middle @9:15, and elementary @ 8:15.
This is win win for all involved! from Pace by Michelle
Comment: This helps by cutting buses and driver? Why not fill up the buses that are in use now. Many go through my neighborhood not even half full. Put high school and middle school together like it use to be. FCAT score will sure drop, which is more important? What about a pay cut for the school board? This proposal will make more kids at home alone and more money going into after school care..Not helping anyone.. think outside the box and think of the parents as well as the children. from Milton, FL by Danah
Comment: The three tiered is okay, but it needs to be modified. High school should be 7:15, elementary 8:15, and middle 9:15. Many HS students watch younger siblings after school, earlier start time means the need for parents paying for afterschool daycare. Most middle schoolers can put themselves on the bus, if elementary were moved to 9:15, parents would need before school care. from Pace, Florida by Natalie
Comment: I think it's a bad idea, and its not fair to the High school students that participate in sports and work evening after school jobs!
Has anyone stopped to think about the increase of traffic on 98 at the time High school will be letting out? That time of day the traffic is already heavy,it may result in more accidents involving our teens.
If the times have to be staggered, maybe its time to think about the younger kids going in later. from Navarre,Florida by Rose
Comment: It is good for cost savings, but they need to rethink what schools start at what times. High schools already start from 7:05 in Navarre, to 7:15 in Pace, and Gulf Breeze starts about 7:20 - let them keep an early start time, then adjust the rest of the schools accordingly - i.e. elementary and then middle schools. from Navarre
|
