HYANNIS – A public forum was held at Barnstable High School on Wednesday night to discuss the idea of a later start time for students in the district.
A special subcommittee has recommended the later start times based on research and studies that indicate that it would lead to better academic outcomes and a decrease in tardiness.
After a brief introduction by Superintendent Meg Mayo-Brown and School Committee member Margeaux Weber, High School Principal Patrick Clark spoke about the timeline that led to where they are today.
“7:20 for a high school student, they’re brain is not awake regardless of what time they went to bed, so we now have a situation in this building where the first block of the day is not what it should be, it’s just not an appropriate start,” said Clark.
If the recommendations were implemented, all elementary schools would maintain their current 9 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. schedule, but Barnstable High School would change to 8:15 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.
Dr. Katie Rudman with Cape Cod Healthcare helped the school district with the medical background in studies that have shown positive outcomes in later start times.
“The data that’s coming out is very exciting looking at the places where they’ve implemented these changes,” said Rudman. “They’re seeing kids who are more emotionally stable, are getting better grades, are less likely to be tardy, the traffic deaths and incidents have gone down.”
Karyn Kuhn, an English teacher at Falmouth High School that had two kids previously in the Barnstable School District, said that they shouldn’t be looking to Nauset Regional High School in Eastham as an example of how successful the later start times can be.
“The first year that Nauset implemented these changes, it lost its Level 1 status,” said Kuhn. “While it did eventually earn it back, it lost that advanced standing while undergoing the transition.”
The subcommittee has also recommended that two grade 4-7 schools be created at Barnstable Intermediate School and Barnstable United Elementary School.
The subcommittee believes that converting both locations would allow for a geographic split for transportation which would reduce overall travel time and allow for a later high school start time.
If later start times are implemented, both schools would have a 7:20 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. schedule.
If they were kept as they are, it could cost the district over $700,000.
The school district is holding another public forum at Barnstable High School on May 17 to discuss the topic.
Afterwards, the district will be creating an email address for feedback from the public and will be developing a FAQ and will have more resources on the district’s website.
By JUSTIN SAUNDERS, CapeCod.com Newscenter
