Letter: Sacrifices due to new school schedules not acceptable

Posted 9/17/19

To the editor:

U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools in Massachusetts:

#1: Boston Latin School (school start time 7:45 a.m.)

#2: Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter …

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Letter: Sacrifices due to new school schedules not acceptable

Posted

To the editor:

U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools in Massachusetts:

#1: Boston Latin School (school start time 7:45 a.m.)

#2: Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School (7:30 a.m.)

#3: Sturgis Charter Public School (8:20 a.m.)

#4: Lexington HS (7:45 a.m.)

#5: Boston Latin Academy (7:20 a.m.)

#6: Hopkinton HS (7:25 a.m.)

#7: Dover Sherborn Regional HS (7:40 a.m.)

#8: The Bromfield School (7:45 a.m.)

#9: Belmont HS (7:35 a.m.)

#10: Manchester Essex Regional HS (7:45 a.m.)

#176: Monomoy Regional HS (8:45 a.m.)

Obviously, school start time is not what makes a school great. Amazing teachers and staff, dedicated students and families, and a supportive community are what make a school system succeed.

Our superintendent and school committee have upended a successful model, causing increased stress and anxiety for many families, students, teachers and staff, the very stakeholders that make our district such an amazing place for teaching and learning.

It is true, the new schedule is beneficial for some students, and some teenagers are getting more sleep as a result; however, the changes are also causing increased stress and anxiety for students at all levels. K-5 students have significantly longer and earlier bus rides. These students now have the added stresses of waking up earlier, plus one to almost two hours on the bus each day. K-5 students who had high school siblings or babysitters after school now go to daycare instead of going home after school. Not only does this increase stress for these young children, but it is also an increased financial burden for families. Some high school athletes have to leave school early to make it to games on time resulting in missed instructional time and increased anxiety and workload. 

These sacrifices are simply not acceptable.

The new start times and associated transportation overhaul are not the best path forward for all students in Barrington. They benefit a select subset of students at the great expense of all other students. The academic return on investment will decrease because of all the aforementioned issues.  

Mr. Messore and the Barrington School Committee: if your goal truly is to “empower ALL students to excel”,

you must revert back to the original schedule until you can come up with a schedule that is better for all students.

Alison Ashley

Barrington

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