Sunday, April 13, 2008
School Start Times - 2008.09
SDUSD must cut $80 MM from the District Budget. These cuts are going to impact staffing, transportation and other resources. SDUSD has approved a plan which would modify the start / end times of many of the Point Loma Cluster schools. Please let us know your thoughts and make to answer the poll question to the right side of this page. Click Here To Learn More and post your thoughts below.
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25 comments:
Silver Gate students have way too much time to kill with an end time of 1:55pm. A later bell time would have been much better for students and parents.
As it is, families have limited time together. To move the start time up in the morning will take even more time away from the "family unit". Since the average work day is 9 - 5, perhaps moving the bell back to a later time would better serve our children and families. I would also like to add that a start time of 7:45am could increase the incidence of sleep deprivation in some students, jeopardizing their education.
I would like the school start times to be the times best for the students. Start times at PLHS of 7:35 are too early and Correia start times of 9:05 are too late.
There will be no time for after school activities and sports at Correia. The District runs a bus program not an education program.
When will the community have input into the schools times equal to the bus drivers and bus schedules?
I feel in these tight financial times, that saving 3 million on bus schedules is better than cutting classroom programs. The district is in a tight spot and I'd rather they save gas and inconvenience some of us than raise class sizes and cut nurses and counselors. Right now, we can't have it all because this administration on a national and state level does not value our children's education.
I drive to and from, both my High Schooler in PLHS and my middle schooler to Dana, now heading to Correia. I wasn't in the meetings with regard to changing start/end times, but it sure would be nice if the times were closer together rather than farther apart. It would be much better for the family unit, and would be so nice if the whole family could be on the same schedule. Why can't the busses combine students from the various schools? Are the busses always full?
Most children come from working families who begin work at 8 - 9am therefore most of these children will have to be dropped off at Correia an hour and some children two hours before school starts. This is going to make for a long day for these kids. I am concerned children will burn out and lose motivation in the classroom due to the extra long day. The children that will not be able to get into a before school program will hang out in front of the school with all this idle time. With idle time comes trouble. There will be no time for after school activities. In the wintertime it gets dark earlier and some of the children have to walk home. I think it is ridculous to start school at 9:05 and end after 4. It is too long of a day for these kids. This is a tremedous hardship on working parents and our children. Some children will be spending as long as 10hrs at school and then to go home and do another 2 hours of homework. There has got to be a better way.
Think of all the money the school budget would save if we cut out the bus transportation altogether. We should promote going to your neighborhood schools. There are amazing teachers and programs in every school in every community. The Point Loma area schools may suffer for decrease in enrollment but that would be a problem that we would have to deal with. I do agree that Dana, Correia, and Point Loma High have bell schedules that coincide with each other and make it easier on the families that live locally.
We have too many elementary schools, too many middle schools and too much busing in Point Loma.
Why can't Point Loma be treated as every other community in the District? K-5 elementary, 6-8 middle school and PLHS should be the cost saving program. PLHS could have the early start times and a reduced number of early buses and the K-8 schools could have the late start times and later buses.
The students on the buses should be treated as a valuable addition to the community but should be required to produce academically in exchange for the transportation cost. No more busing used as day care for students and their parents. You need to expect the best to get the best out of all students.
It would be terrific if the district(s) could be proactive rather than reactive. What would have happened, if all districts found cost saving ways to transport kids in the past?
I suggest that programs such as music, art, PE, etc. could have been beefed up. Our environment would be better for not having so many buses emitting pollution. The kids at all ages need to have a well rounded education. Including PE and the arts is a must.
The districts need to look at themselves as a business and have continuous improvement in the OPERATION of the district.
Let us hear it for ACTIVATING QUALITY CONTROL ON THE OPERATION OF EDUCATION.
Who knows, perhaps analysis might show NO NEED for bussing at all. IMAGINE A CITY WITHOUT SCHOOL BUSES. Our neighborhoods are becoming more and more integrated (we know that this is a primary reason for bussing. I thought Affirmative Action was a thing of the past.), all the schools are improving by being accountable and activating programs such as “no child left behind” etc…..
Let’s hear it for NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS
If there was ever any doubt in anyone's mind, this was proof positive that we got this issue right:
The Kids speak out:
The kids sent out a petition at Correia on Friday at lunch and by the end of the day they had collected over 300+ signatures. About 30% of the class rooms returned the petitions immediately and we are hoping that the rest return them today. Of the classes that returned there was almost 100% agreement that they are unhappy with the time change. I thought that was little short of amazing. In what venue do you get almost 100% of the people/kids to agree on anything.
It was also interesting to hear some of the reasons the kids are upset:
1. Kids who walk home are afraid that they will be walking home after dark (I mean passionately upset) 2. Kids who are getting after school homework assistance don't think that staff is going to stay that much later (and I agree) 3. No lunch on the short day (dismissal time 1:55) so no lunch until at least 2:00 4. Don't ask me how these two are tied together, but the kids are also upset that they are losing
"advisory period" and they associate that with the time change.
Very enlightening and reassuring to hear the kids in the trenches express themselves.
SAMPLE OF THE PETITION:
WE DISAGREE WITH CORREIA MIDDLE SCHOOL’S CHANGE TO A LATER DISMISSAL TIME
FROM: CONCERNED STUDENTS AT CORREIA
TO: THE SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD
We the undersigned would like to bring your attention to the following
problem:
We have been informed that our late dismissal time (3:35pm) is about to become even later (4:00pm) and we don’t think that is fair. We believe that the dismissal times should be rotated fairly and evenly throughout the district and that because of budget problems we should not be punished.
If I can take license with Poster #3:
The School district should run an edcuation program, not a transporation program.
Last year the District debated the Seminar program....let's remove the Seminar students from thier testing.
This year they debate the Gate program....let's remove the Gate students from their testing.
Next year the District changes the school start times without community input......let's remove the community students from their testing.
I am about done asking the District for anything. It time to show the District the importance of our community students to their budget and to their test scores.
I admire the students at Correia for speaking out. Let's just hope their voices are heard. They will be the ones that suffer but yet expected to perform without the tools they need to be successful students.
I have a kindergartener and first grader at Silver Gate. They're already TOO tired having to get up at 7am every morning. They barely get 3 bites of breakfast before getting dressed, brushing teeth, and rushing out the door to make that 7:55am first bell. What's worse is that every other elementary starts at 9:05am. WHAT A JOKE! Nice job board members; you must be so proud.
IMO, every student/family should have the right to vote with their feet and choose a school - have you (or any of your children) ever walked thru a gang infested neighborhood? Many families that have college aspirations want their children around other likeminded students. Busing is complicated...and until we figure out a way for all schools to be excellent, for all neighborhoods to be safe, for all schools to offer unlimited learning curriculum it will remain the same.
What we need are solutions, ideas, vision and a passion to make education what it can be (not what it has been).
So, the internet and a connected world play a large part in reinventing / rethinking the 150 year old education system that was designed for the Agrarian Age. Kids starting school this year will retire in 2067 - and will have an average of 12 jobs before they reach age 38. New kinds of schools must emerge - schools that are connected - where students are no longer limited to the knowledge contained in the school house, but tap into the best minds and ideas in the world. Schools of the future will enable students to take classes from MIT (their classes are online and free) or Stanford (Yes, there is a Stanford High School, it is online).
New schools will be collaborative environments, teacher’s role will move to facilitator, coach or guide. Students will become globally connected and aware (they will have to compete), teacher ratios will change (fewer teachers with more time) (because students are doing learning/coursework online, real time, with digital instruction and assessment).
Schools of the future will look more like a Starbuck's and less like a prison, a place where students are engaged and empowered (with relevant content and context).
Learning will be 24/7 and kids will become passionate lifelong learners.
We must move from the "cross the desert first and I'll tell you why later" educational delivery system. Kids don’t get it. Much of the content and what kids learn is dated and not relevant. Most importantly, when empowered and engaged, kids "want" to (not "have to" learn).
In a world where you can text Google a question and the answer is sent to our cell phone in 5 seconds (yes, you can do that),we must move delivery from "memorizing answers" (lecture, read, test) to knowing the question (critical thinking). Physical location will be less important...because all kids will have access to the best global education/resources - something that our generation (the digital immigrants) never had.
Globally, America is at risk for becoming the France (or Detroit) of the 21st Century...and there are 1.3 billion people in Asia and another 1 billion in India that are competing hard (that is who our kids will be competing with).
While we may not see the future, our kids will, and our job is to help them make something of it.
To learn more, see www.ibrary.com
I think PLHS starts way too early...leads to sleep deprivation. I agree we should stop busing due to the expense and pollution. People can attend their neighborhood schools, which encourages more involvement in their own communities/local PTAs, etc.
Why don't all Pt. Loma Clusters start and end at relatively the same time? I have a child that will start PLHS in the Fall. My other child will be attending Correia. We do not live close enough to walk to school. However, I am quite willing to drive them. This doesn't make sense to me. Most parents need to work. The new and old times make it impossible. I understand I can drop off at Correia (if I can get into Prime Time) which makes for a very long day for a 12 year old. What about the new High Schooler, out at 2:10? How many trips must one take to your district school and still try to keep a job?
If you choose to go to a school outside of your boundaries then I think that transporting your child to and from school should become your responsibility. Why are we spending dollars on busing children when they could go to schools in their own neighborhoods.
I agree that many of our children come from working families who begin work at 8 - 9am therefore most of these children will have to be dropped off an hour before school starts. This is going to make for a long day for elementary aged children. And what about after school programs, when in the fall & winter it gets dark @ 5:00 ish. There will be no time for after school activities ~ which I believe is a vital part of a childs education!
I think it is very unfair to our children to start school at 9:05 and end around 4. Not to mention what it does to working parent.
There has got to be a better way.
I think we need to find a better solution for saving $3 million in the budget than asking our children in Point Loma to start later or earlier.
I have a child who attends Sunset View and you are proposing a start time of 9:05am. I am a working parent & I need to be to work by 9:00 ~ what am I to do? I could put her in SAY, but that makes for an extremely long day for a 6 year old.
Also in the fall & winter when it gets dark @ 5:00 what is she to do about after school activities when she doesn’t get home until 4:00pm.
I understand the need/desire for children outside our area to come to school in the PL Cluster ~ but we need to find a better solution than changing our school time to accommodate a small percentage of the children that come from outside the neighborhood.
Not only will some of our children be forced to an early drop off due to working parents but they will also be staying later on the back end. This makes for a very long day for our children not to mention the fact that when they get home they usually have an hour or two of homework facing them. This is ridculous.
I'm a Silver Gate parent of two and the start time is already too early. We have to rush through dinner and barely get any family time with homework and showers because they have to go to bed so early - in order to get up incredibly early. My husband barely gets to spend time with them.
Next year I'll have one a Silver Gate and one at Dana. There will be a two hour span between the two pick ups in the afternoon -
that's insane. I don't know when my daughter will have time for Girl Scouts, piano lessons and tennis with such a late pick up. The morning drop off will be hard. Dropping off one at 7:45am and then the other not until 9am.
I really hope the district listens to parents and considers how to make life easier on parents, not more difficult.
There is no need to rehash all of the valid and obvious arguments against these draconian school bell changes to accomodate busing schedules. The only invalid arguments are those that want non-bused nieghborhood schools. A great idea but completely precluded by the Districts voluntary busing agreement to facilitate integration that went into effect way back when. But in case no one noticed, the busing schedule has been driving the ridiculous bell schedules all along. Why do Dana and Correia get only 1/2 hour for lunch? Is there still anyone in the area not on federally subsidised lunch that still has their child buy a hot lunch? It is impossible for the kids to get in line, get served, and eat lunch (without swallowing it whole)and be on time to class in that time period unless they are in the front of the line. The first few days of the school year always prove this, and when asked about it the Dana principal will say to not worry, it will get better in a few days. Of course it will, when most Point kids give up and start bringing their lunches.
In my opinion this issue is going to be a seminal test case as to the power of parents to significantly dictate how our schools educate our children. The District, Board and Teachers Union want and need parent time, money, support and recognition yet they make little effort to bring parents into the equation. There are a huge number of skilled, educated and willing parents in the District and I have no doubt that if they had been part of the process for the last 5 years the current crisis would be significantly less critical. The Point Loma Cluster Schools Council has gotten the attention of the District and Board. We should all encourage and support them in any way we can and ratchet up the pressure for the good of our kids. IMHO, of course.
This whole situation is driven by money and politics. I am a parent that was a driver for SDUSD while in college, and decided back then that busing (except for special ed.) is completely crazy. Children should go to their neighborhood schools. All of the great new schools being built (S.D. High) are in neighborhoods that bus their kids out! This busing will probably not go away soon, but I think parents should do some type of demonstration that gets media attention (like the recent teacher one downtown protesting job cuts. Include the older kids from Correia. We need to put pressure on the proper governing groups making the decisions!!! How can after-school sports schedules work when our kids get out of school 45 minutes before dark??? Dismissal times of around 3:30 and half-hour lunches are shocking enough- AND NOW THIS??
It looks like nothing will be done about school start times in Point Loma. The only time the schools want to hear from the parents is when its time for fund raising.
Also, what good is the Point Loma Cluster School Council?
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