Early middle school start time- probably should be in BP

[newnana]

The sleeping in thread really has me back to being really bothered about our middle school start time. DD would get on the bus at 8:20 for Elementary. They use the same 4 buses for all the schools in our town (yep, it's that small). For HS and MS they get on the bus at 7:00 for a 7:15 start time for middle school. Thank goodness we're one of the last stops at least, but I feel for those families that aren't. A significant number of the clubs meet BEFORE school starts. No bus for my kiddo on those days.

DD does swim team in the summer. She has to be at the pool by 7 AM, so that helps keep her on schedule and she's an early riser anyway... for now. With all the research that supports tweens and teens needing to sleep later in the day and more sleep needed overall in addition to doing activities and homework later at night it really chaps my a$$.

I really just needed to vent, not sure what I"m looking for here.

For those of you that got school schedules changed, how did your district do it?

[SnuggleBuggles]

Supposedly our district did a small sample study with a late start at high school but maybe it never happened as I've seen nothing more of it.
Mine gets on the bus at 6:15am for a 7am start. Done with school at 2pm. Why the heck can't they be 8-3??? I mean, it works when he has 2 activities going; sports right after school until 5:30, music stuff starts at 6:30 and goes until 9 (10 depending on activity). They say they need the early start so kids have time for jobs and activities. They really would be ok getting out at 3. :(


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[PunkyBoo]

As a working mom, later starts put me in a major quandary. If I take my kids to school in the morning, I'd have to start work at 9, which means I'm working until 6:30pm, (alternating Fridays off) so nobody would be able to get to any activities and in the chin of the family, so dinner would be very very late. While my teen does need more sleep and I know his clock has shifted later, school schedules are a mess already for us. Schools probably aren't trying to change because it's a no-win situation, working parents are stuck.

[newnana]

I work FT and have at least an hour commute each way, so I get that no time works for everyone. I think I'm more thinking as a 5'1" person: growth hormone is released during sleep, DD has a better shot at being taller than 5'1" if she could sleep more. Please? Hopefully DHs genetics have more to say about that one as he's tall. That and DD does better at everything, including attitude, when she's well rested, so it's better for the family. No matter what time school starts/stops; activities before/after we always have loads of logistics to work out. Generally we end up having to pay a college girl to run DD around to her activities since we are both working nowhere available.

[georgiegirl]

We are in a similar situation. The bus picked up the kids at 8:10 for elementary for a 8:50 start. Middle school starts at 8:05, and the bus is supposed to get DD at 6:45!!!!!! She won't get home until 4PM. That just seems unreasonable for an 11 year old. Plus she has swim team until 8:45 during the week. It's awful. Ive convinced a few other neighborhood parents have a carpool...we can leave at 7:30, and the kids can get 45 min of sleep extra a night. I really hate out bus service.


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[KrisM]

I feel like ours is backwards too. Our elementary gets picked up at 8:45 for a 9am start. Our middle school kids get picked up at 7 for a 7:30 start, which isn't bad of a ride. But, some kids get picked up at 6am for middle school and some elementary kids aren't home until 5:30 with a 4pm end time.

Our middle and high school ride the same bus, so to middle is short, but home is very long. They end at 2:30 and DS would walk in at 3:25. he typically rides his bike the 3.5 miles and beats the bus by 30 minutes.

[essnce629]

Things are definitely starting to shift out here, especially with charter and private schools doing later start times so kids can get more sleep.

At our charter school, the elementary kids started at 8:05am and the middle school (separate campus) kids started at 8:35am.

DS1 is starting private high school in the fall and will have an 8:30am start time. They also recently extended lunch to a full hour to allow a more relaxed atmosphere and give time for clubs to meet during lunch.

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[chottumommy]

Our school district has a later start times for middle school too. Elementary is 8:10 and middle school is 8:45. Highschool is a bit earlier at 8:25 I think. Not sure when the practice started. It would be hard for working parents but our commutes are 5mins or less so everybody can be at work before 9. Either way, the bus definitely gets there earlier and you can drop off the kids at gym almost half hour before start and the before care is free. Makes it easier for me when I have 8:30 meetings.

Good luck OP, its hard either way.

[123LuckyMom]

Ugh! That's early! Our elementary school day starts at 8:35am, and we're at the end of the bus route, so the bus is at 8:20, which is a totally reasonable time for younger kids. The middle and high school starts at 7:40am, and we're far from that school, so our bus comes really early. Since my kids are young, I'm not sure exactly what time, but I'm pretty sure it's before 7am. They do it primarily for the sports schedule, I think, so that kids have time (and more light) in the afternoon for practices and games, but maybe it's also for parent schedules, which I understand. I wish they would heed the research and switch the two schedules, though. Most little kids have no trouble waking early, but it's torture for a teen to need to be up at 6am! I'm pretty sure I'll drive my kids when they're in middle school. By then they could probably wake close to 7am and still be out the door by 7:20am. I'm hoping by the time it's my kids' turn, though, school for teens will start after 8am. I do understand the problem for working parents, because there's no before-school program for older kids, but it's a shame they don't get to sleep later.


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[egoldber]

I feel your pain. Older DD's MS started at 7:20. She had to be on the bus at 6:40 and we were NOT the first stop!!! When she was in MS, they shared buses with the HS (which at the time started even earlier). Now the HS starts at 8 and the MS starts at 7:30. She's at a magnet now that starts at 8:40, and the difference between her having to get up at 7 vs 6 is amazing!

[niccig]

DS's middle school starts at 8am, but you can request zero period and do PE at 7am and do 2 electives instead of 1 elective. DS who has to be dragged out of bed wanted to do zero period, we told him it means close to 6am wake up time. He said he'll get used to it. There's no busses here, and I should leave for work around 7am, so I'll be leaving at 6:45 to drop him off. Only reason we agreed was because it means I'll miss traffic commuting to work and I'll never be late.


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[♥ms.pacman♥]

i wish i could trade with many people here! :) in school districts here, elementary is 7:45 start, middle is 8:25, and high school is 9:00 am.
as a mom to 2 young elementary kids, i don't like it!! Seems counterintuitive to me, bc little ones need so much sleep.

in our house right now, one of us usually get home with kids at 6 and then dinner is usually on the table at 7-7:30pm. It works perfectly for everyone in our family. I don't think my kids have EVER gone to bed before 8pm. It's always after 9pm, sometimes closer to 10. we like spending time with them after getting home and having lots of time for them to leisurely play, eat dinner, veg, take baths, etc. i cannot imagine just getting home from work and rushing thru everything and putting them to bed not even couple hours later. i wish elementary schools started later so then it would be easier. right now it's nice bc its' summer and they go to daycare and so they can stay up later and dont' end up going in until 830 or 9am...we are so loving it. but in the school year it's annoying... i feel so rushed in the evenings, all because they have to get up the next morning at 6:45. boo!

[JustMe]

I would also love to trade with some of you! Middle school starts at 9am. High school is 8:40 four days/week and 9:20 the other day. Neither kid qualifies to ride the bus because we live too close. Very difficult as a single WOHP.

[IansMom]

In our district, elementary starts at 7:40 and MS & HS begin at 8:40. The elementary school bus picks up at 6:40 but I SAH and take him.

[calebsmama03]

Elementary is 9-330 here. Middle is 8-3. HS is 7:15-2:30. My little guy is up and ready and has almost an hour of play or reading time before we leave for school. Seems silly when study after study shows older kids bodies naturally are programmed to sleep later. District discussed it in several focus group meetings but decided it would cost too much to switch everything around due to buses.

[AnnieW625]

As a working parent I wouldn't mind an early start time and TBH we are lucky that DH's schedule can handle the 8 am drop off or Monday 9 am drop off, but if they did it I would expect less home work and the ability to put my kids to bed at an early hour between 8:30 and 9:30; there were some nights when DD1 went to bed after I did so around 10 pm. I did have zero period for band in the 8th grade (so I could be on student council) and it was tough, but I made it work, and then in high school I often went in early for extra Algebra 2 help at 7 am and that was easier, and by college I felt like I did better work on harder classes first thing in the AM. I had friends who had to take the bus from the country 10-15 miles from town and they were always on by 7 am for an 8 am start. If DD1 goes to the Catholic high school in the big city downtown the bus leaves her current elementary school at 7 am for an 8 am start and I am not entirely opposed to that if it is the right school for her. If she has to take the city to that high school (or any other public high school) the bus she would take would have to leave about the same time (a lot of kids here take the city busses to high school).