Board of Education eyes changes to school day
A change in school start and dismissal times means more than students and teachers resetting their alarms.
In a Board of Education workshop this week, several Anne Arundel County Public School community members and employees discussed the impact changing start and stop times would have on things like bus routes, childcare, student safety, sports and other extracurriculars.
Now, the board wants to hear from the public. A hearing will be held via livestream at 6p.m. on Monday. It will be limited to100 speakers, each allotted twominutes. Those wishing to speak must sign up no later than 5p.m. onSundayatbit.ly/starttimeshearing .
At the Dec. 14 workshop, staff and community members presented issues with a later school day, saying children would potentially play sports and walk or bike home in the dark.
“If things go later in the day, so too do the co-curriculars and the same things happen. They run into darkness, they run into family life late in the day, they run into transportation problems and they run into safety and security as nightfall comes,” Deputy Superintendent Academics& Strategic Initiatives Maureen McMahon said.
Anne Arundel Recreation and Parks director Rick Anthony said a change in school times could hurt Rec and Parks’ ability to staff childcare sites, which mostly employ high schoolers.
“There is a tremendous impact on any change the school system or the board of ed proposes that will have a domino effect on some of the things we struggle here with at Rec and Parks,” Anthony said.
Davidsonville resident Melissa Stanton signed up to speak at Monday’s hearing. She said children are already walking to school and playing sports in the dark, and that the current school hours are unhealthy for kids like hers.
She points to the mandate California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law last year requiring high schools to begin classes no earlier than 8:30 a.m. and middle schools at 8 a.m. in order to align with American Academy of Pediatrics recom-mendations.
“It’s time,” Stanton said. “Everyone knows the science. As parents, we know kids need more sleep but because of the school schedule, they can’t get more sleep. If Dr. Arlotto can’t do this, I hope they retire him and when they’re interviewing, find somebody committed to getting this done.”