LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Waking up before the sun rises is not easy, especially for middle and high school students, but that’s the reality for JCPS students right now.
Every day, students wait under streetlights at a bus stop early in the morning, but Superintendent Marty Pollio proposed moving the start time back for middle and high school students.
Shari Offett said she drives her daughter to Central High School so she doesn’t have to wait at a bus stop in the dark, and said a later start time would be beneficial.
“A little more time would be better for us,” Offett said. “Sometimes I’m running a little late, I won’t lie, so it would be easier if I had 10, 15 more minutes, that would be better for me.”
During his State of the District address, Pollio said earlier start times often negatively impact attendance, saying data shows achievement drops when students miss six or more days.
“The earlier the start times, the more negatively it can impact student attendance and student achievement,” Dr. Pollio said.
Middle and high school students currently start at 7:40 a.m., while elementary starts at 9:00 a.m.
Pollio has a goal that no students start before 8:00 a.m. One option he mentioned is adding a third start time, so students could start at 8:00 a.m., 8:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.
Pollio did, however, acknowledge adjusting the times will be complicated.
“There’s no way not to impact the entire system,” said Dr. Pollio. “It’s a puzzle.”
Even with the positives, a later start time would bring, some parents aren’t so sure this would be the best option, preferring to stick to the status quo.
“It would sort of interrupt my schedule,” JCPS high school parent Antonio McClain said. “Actually I get off work then come and take her to school.”
Pollio said if the time is changed, the earliest it will happen is the 2021–22 school year.
So in two years, students could be seeing more sunlight on the way to school.
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