To the editor:

It is disappointing that you have chosen to foresake the teachers, parents, and most importantly, the students of this district to push forward your agenda of an 8:30 a.m. start time for the high school.  

You have heard repeatedly for months from parents and teachers alike that the proposed schedule for 2019-2020 will cause division within the district because it fails to support all students. With the exception of Ms. Clancy, you have refused to acknowledge the issues associated with the schedule, and the impact they will have on the students, teachers, and families in the district.

Dr. Douglas was quoted in the June 5th Barrington Times as saying “We’re not sacrificing the elementary students.” She has heard many times from a number of parents about the sacrifices their elementary children will make with this new schedule. Some elementary students will have a bus ride of 50 minutes each way to and from school. K-3 students who already struggle to wake up for the current start time will be sleep-deprived (the very thing the initiative is supposed to prevent) and have an even more difficult time in the coming school year.  K-5 students who go home after school with older siblings or high school babysitters will have to go to daycare instead of going home. These are sacrifices that will affect the health and well-being of our young children.

Forcing a schedule that requires many sacrifices, at all levels, without the support of the teachers and community, is not the right way to make change.  

Some districts in Massachusetts have switched to a similar schedule, yes, but that does not mean it is the right schedule for Barrington. If you must change the start times, please consider the East Greenwich model, in which the HS/MS start at 8 a.m. and K-5 at 8:50 a.m. This schedule would allow for a later start for adolescents, while minimizing the negative impacts (except for long bus rides) of the currently proposed schedule, and should be considered as a viable alternative.  

There is still time to do the right thing Mr. Messore, Dr. Douglas, Ms. Bae, Ms. Sevetson, and Mr. McCrann.  Please empower all students to excel by not implementing the currently proposed schedule.

Alison Ashley

Barrington