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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   Related Stories • Stay Up Late 9/28/09 • Obama urges longer school days, shorter summer break 9/28/09   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Monday, September 28, 2009 Marysville's high schools may shift to a later first bell 9:50 a.m. start possible for Marysville-Pilchuck By Eric Stevick Herald Writer MARYSVILLE — High school students in Marysville could show up to first period classes next fall more than two hours later than they do now and still not get a tardy slip. The Marysville School Board is exploring bell schedule options that would dramatically change the daily routines of students, teachers and parents. The proposals include a 9:25 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. school day when the new Marysville Getchell High School opens, and a 9:50 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. day at Marysville-Pilchuck High School. The school day at Marysville-Pilchuck now starts at 7:20 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m. “There would be a net gain for 100 percent of kids because of more rest,” said Michael Kundu, the school board president. The board also is considering more traditional starting times for the high schools: 7:10 a.m. at Marysville Getchell and 7:35 a.m. at Marysville-Pilchuck. That would require most students catching the bus 10 minutes earlier than they do now. The two options were whittled down from 14 proposals over the past year, said Joe Legare, the district’s transportation director. Under either option, the starting times for the two schools will be staggered because the district is allowing students to attend either campus regardless of where they live. Students from both schools will share the same buses, meaning students from Marysville-Pilchuck will be shuttled from Marysville Getchell in the morning and students from Marysville Getchell will make a stop at Marysville-Pilchuck at the end of the day. The net effect is an extra 25 minutes a day on the bus for students at both schools. Kundu said national research supports a late start for high school students. A 2005 study published in the medical journal Pediatrics concluded that students have special needs in their sleep cycles and “school schedules are forcing them to lose sleep and to perform academically when they are at their worst.” Kundu’s two sons are in high school and “I see them walking off like zombies.” School district officials insist that no decision has been made and expect opposition to the late-start option, which could have a big impact on sports and other extracurricular participation, as well as after-school job opportunities. “We need to have a lot of community discussion and a lot of staff discussion,” said Superintendent Larry Nyland. “It’s way too early to know which way the board will go.” Arden Watson, president of the Marysville Education Association and a mother of a high school student, said teachers are only now becoming aware that the late-start proposal is one of the two final options. Watson called the late-start option “a significant change to working conditions. I have no idea what MEA members think about this but I can probably guess.” Mary Ann Bockman has three children, including two in high school. She’s open to hearing the arguments for a late start, but so far isn’t sold on the idea. “I don’t see it increasing their amount of sleep,” she said. “They still have so much they need to get done — sports, homework, work — in the same amount of time.” Mike LaRosa, a Marysville dad who will have a daughter in high school next year, said he knows a later starting time could affect peoples’ lives, but he likes the idea of teenagers getting to sleep in. Younger children go to bed earlier and tend to wake up earlier, while teenagers stay up late with their studies, he said. “I think schools have been doing it backwards for all these years,” he said. “They are fighting a losing battle and a lot of kids fall through the cracks.” James Hatley, 16, a junior at Marysville-Pilchuck, said he would prefer the early start time. “I would want to get the day done early,” he said. “It leaves more time for homework.” Changing school starting times can be a tough sell. The Fairfax County School District in Virginia decided last spring against changing its schedule from 7:20 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. start times at most of its 25 high schools, based on opposition from parents, students, teachers and business people, said Mary Shaw, a spokeswoman for the nation’s 12th largest district. Reasons given included conflicts with sports and students’ work schedules, community access to swimming pools and fields, and day-care conflicts, with older children often looking after younger siblings after school. “The community told us overwhelmingly they didn’t want it,” Shaw said. READER COMMENTS Log in or register to post new comment | Log out (No heading) While I wholeheartedly agree with about ninety percent of what you are saying, please rethink your sentiments on the bond issue. The bond package that is on the table was created with the help of parents, school staff, and community members of the Citizens Planning Committee. If the bond passes next year, our children are the ones who will benefit. Two neighborhood elementary schools, that may otherwise be forced to close, would be rebuilt. As well as a new middle school, starting to remodel MPHS, and various other projects that will benefit not just our children, but our community as a whole. When schools close, cities suffer! Michael Duffy | Sep 28, 2009 6:25 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Why Punish Those Who are Doing Good? High school, in this region, by tradition, is 7ish to 2ish. The traditional times allow for students to have part time jobs, and/or partake in extra-curricular activities. With cutbacks in electives, often times these activities are enhancements for future aspirations. Changing the finish time to 430pm would hinder our family in several ways. It is selfish of Marysville school board members to expect businesses in this region to adjust to a non-traditional finish time, when nearby school districts observe traditional start and finish times. Obviously the challenge is more one of the board not thinking through the bus challenges that would transpire when creating three campuses for Marysville students. Why not create a transfer station at MPHS, leave the times for that campus alone, and adjust the other campuses start times to allot for transportation of students from MP to Getchell? MSD caused nightmare situations by starting the small learning communities, and now they want to screw with 'normal' scheduling?! Perhaps certain families need to teach their children to get to bed in time to receive the amount of sleep neccessary to function. Successful students shouldn't be punished by "zombie" children whose parents fail to set boundries. I think it is past time to move our student out of this district, and maybe time for a new school board! Seriously, should any bond or levy be passed when the board members keep attempting to push on their own special agendas? The district still hasn't recovered from the strike (student count), and now the board wants to force more students out of district? Hello, Lake Stevens .... plenty of Marysville Students would like to join your normalcy! LiLi | Sep 28, 2009 5:38 pm | 1 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Research clearly supports later start times The research is clear, and more than ten years old: Because of the rapid physical growth and rapidly-changing hormone levels in adolescents, their "most-awake" hours occur in mid-afternoon to evening. That is the time that they are able to pay attention best and learn more. Teens are physically different from kids and adults. "Training" their bodies to work on an adult clock will not work until they have adult bodies. As teens mature into adults, they become more alert in morning hours, and more able to stay awake, learn, and perform on an adult schedule. For a very complete article on this topic, I recommend the Wall Street Journal, Sept 1, 2006 pw.11 "Want to Improve Education? Let Kids Sleep" by Stephen Moore. Aarene Storms | Sep 28, 2009 1:15 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Marysville School District MSD=Miserable School District Johhnny Rotten | Sep 28, 2009 12:14 pm | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal What next ! What next... Marysville's high school is so screwed up as it is with there "small learning community" style. They might as well offer flex time for students who want to go early and for those who want to go late and just try that out for a while and see which is better on charts and paper. They have been the guinea pigs for SLC up to now. Better yet, give them an option to do their classes online when they want. Pete Vandalen | Sep 28, 2009 10:20 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal The idiot express This is unbelievable...!! The reason the kids are tired is because their parents let them stay up half the night playing video games and watching TV. The only message the school district is sending the kids is "It's ok to be lazy, we will accomodate you". Here's a little news flash for the idiots in charge at the school. The reason school starts when it does is to condition the kids to get up early..(Like you will have to when you get a job). go to bed at a reasonable hour, (I know, being responsible for your actions is tough)being able to get home at a decent hour from school to do your chores and homework (for those of you who actually live in a civilized home). Also, if your kid does have "6 hours of homework" (which I highly doubt) Then that still gets them to bed by 10...Moral of the story...kill your television. Mark Dance | Sep 28, 2009 8:58 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal no brainer sounds like a no brainer to me. kids are not getting enough sleep. yes - we used to go to class early too but we didn't have 6 hours of homework each night either ... rita stanwood | Sep 28, 2009 8:19 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal (No heading) I have to comment on this. Every idea I've heard coming out of Marysville surrounding its schools has gotten more and more ridiculous over the years. I went to MPHS (started at 7:20 AM on the dot), and let me tell you that most of the teachers (at least the ones who taught classes that were required to graduate) would do anything to get their kids to pass. It's really time to stop worrying about their young vulnerable psyches (Oh no! What happens if this kid fails and it hurts his feelings?) and have some expectations. After graduation they just dump you out into the harsh reality of the world anyway, and kids aren't prepared for it. Thank goodness I got out when I did. Brittany Parker | Sep 28, 2009 6:24 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal This is a good idea. Mary Carskadon of Brown University published this research over a decade ago. Minnesota made the switch and found grades went up and athletic participation remained the same. Teens gained sleep and reduced hours at minimum wage jobs. This is the best research-based decision for adolescent students. I applaud Marysville for even considering it. S. Kelsey | Sep 28, 2009 6:19 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal Seems like an easy sell to me You can increase student learning by just starting 2 hours later!? And it is a hard sell? Seems to me that should be the number one goal for everyone and everything else is just periphery. Sport practice can be done before school. Part time jobs can still be had. If we are actually dedicated to improved student learning, every high school would have later start times! Melissa Metzger | Sep 28, 2009 4:54 am | 0 replies | View all | Post reply | Request removal

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