the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, the Ridgewood Board of Education will vote next Monday February 13th on a resolution to introduce the late-start initiative for Ridgewood high school students starting this fall.
High School Principal Jeff Nyhuis and Ridgewood pediatrician Anne Robinson presented a general outline of the proposal at an informational Board of Education meeting Monday night at the Ed Center on Cottage Place.
Under the later-start schedule Ridgewood High School ,school day would be changed from the current 7:45 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. span to a new 8:20 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. span in September. The school day would start 35 minutes later and end 15 minutes later, cutting 20 minutes from the school day which is a coupe for teachers and administrators .
Only the high school’s 1,789 students would be impacted. A proposal to change the middle school schedule is still under discussion.
In the NJEA has been a big proponent of later starts , from their website :
“An increasing body of evidence is showing how later school start times are making a difference in students’ lives, including improved educational outcomes and mental well-being. Physicians have been advocating for later start times for more than two decades, and the body of literature linking adolescent sleep with increased student success has only grown in depth and rigor.
A new study by Pamela McKeever of Central Connecticut State University and her colleague Linda Clark found that delaying high school start times to 8:30 a.m. and later significantly improved graduation and attendance rates.
School districts “set students up for failure by endorsing traditional school schedules,” McKeever writes, and this practice continues even in the face of mounting evidence supporting the benefits of a later start time. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 42 states, 75%-100% of public schools start before 8:30 a.m. According to the CDC, school should begin no earlier than 8:30.”
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Where are the details? Are the admins supporting this decision or is it an initiative solely from the High School principal?
Good session last night. Indifferent on the change but a couple of observations
– the chart presented by Ms Robinson who is trying her best to hit the 9 hrs of sleep on paper… Suggested students can sleep til 8am and be in school by 8:20. This is impossible and was immediately contradicted by the principal when he suggested kids taking the bus will likely arrive at school by 8am..(which means on the bus stop by 730am). There are others on the West side that would need to leave before 8 just to arrive on time
-same chart suggested homework of just 2 hrs which again seems understated. RHS students receive a significant amt of hw most nights depending on the course load its lijely very close to 3 hrs. AP classes require 60-75 minutes each
– no comments on hw from the principal and believe this is a key issue that needs to be addressed from the too down
– there was also no commentary around the 6/630am lifting sessions imposed by some of the sports teams Will these be eliminated and against the rules ?
– it was clear that Ms Kwak is not 100% sold and asked the best questions by far. She wanted to know how the principal would make up the 20 minutes of the academic day lost. The principal didn’t have a good answer and was backed into his previous stmt that each class would only be shaved by 51 seconds…which doesn’t quite add up to 20minutes
– last observation..principal suggested most students in RHS get to school on their own in response
to Ms Kwak ‘s concern about a conflict with parents getting to work with a later start time. The principal also suggested the later time will eliminate the significant traffic issue btw staff and students in the RHS parking lots and drop-off areas as the staff will be required to arrive at 7:55. So if students generally get themselves to school how can there also be a traffic concern from parent drop-offs?
I’m all in.
My Snowflakes need their sleep.
A total waste of energy and money. Just suck it up boys and girls.
Trying to fix a problem that doesn’t exist.
Get out of bed and go off to school.
No wonder China is eating our lunch.
Do you really believe that students will have 9 hrs of sleep? Do they have any research or study showing that students will go to sleep at the same time and will sleep longer?
Some people really live in Lalaland.
100% correct.
Just more time for the kids (and parents) to party at night.
Will the girls lax coach continue with pre 7am weekday workouts? If yes then plan has zero credibility
My kids have no interest in sleeping in. They would like to “get out of school as early as possible “. Why does a small minority of voices with ridiculous agendas rule this town? Let’s give away our right to vote on the school budget. Oh wait, we already did. Wake up (not any later) Ridgewood!
Ironic that the Woke crowd doesn’t want to Wake Up!