Monomoy Sets New School Start Times for the Fall

HARWICH – The Monomoy Regional School District recently announced the new school start times for the fall.

Last spring the school committee voted unanimously to flip the start times for the elementary schools, and the middle and high schools.

Classes in the towns of Harwich and Chatham will begin at 7:45 a.m. at elementary schools and 8:45 a.m. at middle and high schools.

“The research out there indicates that starting your high schools after 8:30 makes good educational and health sense for teens,” said Scott Carpenter, the superintendent of schools.

The new start times were also focused on starting elementary students earlier because they usually get tired earlier in the afternoon.

“We feel that it would be better to get the elementary-aged students to have an earlier start time to better align the school times to our elementary students circadian rhythms,” Carpenter said.

Carpenter said the time shift will impact all families in the district differently and that parents should begin to make preparations for the fall.