At the May 3 Guilderland Central School District board of education meeting, Superintendent Dr. Marie Wiles made a presentation on the work of the School Start Time Task Force. Originally created in fall 2018, the task force reconvened in spring 2022 to revisit the question of when is the best time to start all school levels. Composed of approximately 35 people, the task force met in person four years ago and continued its work through remote meetings this spring after the district experienced many transportation challenges this school year.
The task force wanted to create options that the GCSD Transportation Department could confidently execute, taking many immutable factors into consideration, including:
- geography of the district and location of seven buildings across almost 60 square miles;
- traffic patterns that exist on Western Avenue and Routes 146 and 155;
- number of bus drivers the district presently has employed. This variable presents the biggest challenge; if the district had more drivers available and could add more bus routes, there would be greater flexibility.
Dr. Wiles stressed that, of the three draft options presented to the board, each came with tradeoffs, and charged the board with “weighing imperfections.” The options were formulated with input and recommendations from Inho Suh, Director of Transportation Services; every minute was accounted for, meaning attempts to adjust the timing of any option would have a ripple effect, potentially causing students loss of instructional time.
Dr. Wiles added that all of the options would require additional work to refine and define students’ and teachers’ schedules, and possibly other contractual considerations.
Data gathered through parent, student and staff surveys
The School Start Time Task Force was originally assigned, in 2018, to review data on adolescent sleep habits, for example, their need for more sleep, when their body clocks naturally shift to make them feel tired, their need to sleep later, etc. Data was also gathered from parents, students and staff, through surveys. The surveys were repeated again in 2022 to provide a point of comparison. Survey questions included “What are the most common wake-up times?”, “How much sleep do you get each night, on average?” and “How has the later start time impacted your hours of sleep?” The data gathered from both surveys provided a foundation for the task force to create three school start time options. View Dr. Wiles’ presentation to read the survey questions and start time options in greater detail.
Option 1: Elementary First
This option is closest to GCSD’s current start times, with some modifications, such as moving the elementary start time earlier and adding five minutes to their instructional day. The high school level would have a later start time and the addition of homeroom.
Elementary
Start Time: 7:30 a.m.
Drop time: 7:15 a.m.
End time: 1:30 p.m.
Depart: 1:45 p.m.
Late Bus: 2:30 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours
High School
Start Time: 8:15 a.m.
Drop time: 8:05 a.m.
End time: 2:57 p.m.
Depart: 3:05 p.m.
Late Bus: 3:45 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours, 42 mins
Middle School
Start Time: 9:10 a.m.
Drop time: 9:00 a.m.
End time: 3:45 p.m.
Depart: 3:50 p.m.
Late Bus: 4:20 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours, 35 mins
Late buses will run three days a week.
As Dr. Wiles had noted, there are pros and cons to each option.
Pros:
- Consistent with sleep research for adolescents
- No unsupervised time at beginning and end of day for GHS
- No need to shorten high school instructional day
- Adds 5 minutes of instructional time at elementary schools
Cons:
- CTE/Mohon buses do not align well with GCSD school day
- Very early pick-up times for elementary students
- Late end of day for FMS
- Need for supervision before start at school at FMS
- Some students miss time at end of day for athletics
Option 2: High School First
This option is not consistent with adolescent sleep research but does provide for the addition of “Dutch Connection,” which would be a period at the end of every day, for all students to have access to teachers for extra instructional help.
High School
Start Time: 7:30 a.m.
Drop time: 7:15 a.m.
End time: 2:40 p.m.*
Depart: 2:50 p.m.
Late Bus: NA
School Day: 6 hours, 32 mins
Elementary
Start Time: 8:05 a.m.
Drop time: 8:00 a.m.
End time: 1:45 p.m.
Depart: 1:55 p.m.
Late Bus: 2:45 p.m.
School Day: 5 hours, 40 min
Middle School
Start Time: 8:55 a.m.
Drop time: 8:45 a.m.
End time: 3:30 p.m.
Depart: 3:40 p.m.
Late Bus: 4:10 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours, 35 mins
*Regular school day ends at 2:02 p.m. All GHS students stay for Dutch Connection.
Pros:
- CTE/Mohon runs align better, frees up to four runs, saves money
- Earlier start and end for FMS
- Less instructional time lost at end of day for athletes
- Later pick up times for elementary students
- Extra help/SEL/DEI time built into end of every school day
Cons:
- Not consistent with sleep research; GHS students less sleep
- Need to shorten elementary school day by 15 minutes from current year; will have curricular implications
Option 3: Middle School First
This option puts the middle school first, a permutation that has not been in place at GCSD before. A significant factor is the length of time it takes buses to get from the rear of Farnsworth Middle School, out to Western Avenue, do their runs and arrive at Guilderland High School. Calculated by Transportation Services, it is thought to take approximately 63 minutes – 13 minutes of that time to simply get from the rear of FMS parking lot to Western Avenue.
Middle School
Start Time: 7:25 a.m.
Drop time: 7:15 a.m.
End time: 1:49 p.m.
Depart: 1:55 p.m.
Late Bus: 2:30 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours, 29 mins
High School
Start Time: 8:33 a.m.
Drop time: 8:18 a.m.
End time: 3:58 p.m.*
Depart: 4:05 p.m.
Late Bus: NA
School Day: 6 hours, 37 mins
Elementary
Start Time: 9:10 a.m.
Drop time: 9:03 a.m.
End time: 3:10 p.m.
Depart: 3:18 p.m.
Late Bus: 3:55 p.m.
School Day: 6 hours
*Regular School Day ends at 3:10; all students stay for Dutch Connection.
Pros:
- Consistent with sleep research for high school students
- Extra help/SEL/DEI built into GHS schedule
- No before school supervision needed at FMS/GHS
- Less after school child care needed at elementary level
- Less instructional time lost for FMS athletes
Cons:
- Not consistent with sleep research for middle school students
- Increased gap with time for CTE/Mohon buses;
- 13 additional instructional minutes lost at end of day for GHS athletes
- Before school care needed at elementary level
After completing the presentation, Dr. Wiles and building principals fielded questions from the board of education members. You can view the presentation on school start times at the May 3 board of education meeting on the GHS Media YouTube page.
The board will vote on school start times for the 2022-23 school year at their May 24 meeting.