Frequently Asked Questions

What impact will an earlier start time have on elementary students?

According to the Minnesota Sleep Society, younger children are biologically wired to wake up earlier, and have more energy for learning in the early part of the day. In fact, core curriculum classes like math and reading are most often held during the first part of the day for this reason. According to the research, teachers in schools where elementary-age students arrive earlier report a more ideal paced morning.

What opportunities will be available to families for childcare?

We will continue to offer high-quality before and after-school care through our Adventure Club program. We’re studying a new costing model to ensure care remains affordable. We are engaging in a variety of strategies to attract more staff to ensure we can meet the demand of families for childcare. We’re working with a recruiter to identify more applicants and we’re changing how we structure positions to make them more attractive. We’re even exploring opportunities for high school students to earn credit and gain on-the-job experience as student workers. 

Will young children be waiting at the bus stops in the dark?

7 a.m. will be targeted as the earliest bus pick-up time for our elementary students. (This is actually more than 30 minutes earlier than our current schedule, which has our secondary students getting picked up before 6:30 a.m.) While the sun rises later in the winter months, the twilight before sunrise means there will generally be light during the elementary bus stop time. As always, we encourage adult caregivers to wait at bus stops with their young children. 

 

Won’t teens just stay up later and still not get enough sleep?

Research shows this is not the case. Teens tend to keep their same bedtime as before the start time change and then sleep longer in the morning because they don’t need to rise as early as they did before. Sleep researcher Dr. Wendy Troxel addresses this in her TEDx talk. In districts she researched, teenagers’ bed times generally did not change.

How will a change in school start time affect family schedules?

The families of our students have a wide variety of work and home schedules and there is not a single school schedule that is ideal for everyone. We recognize that a change to school start times will impact schedules in different ways and we’re committed to supporting families through this transition. 

Will this impact middle and high school students’ ability to participate in after-school activities and sports?

Students will still have access to the same after-school opportunities they’ve always had. Stillwater and Forest Lake are the only districts in our conference that do not have a late high school start time. The change would more closely match athletics and activities schedules in the conference.

Student athletes may need to be released early on some on occasions - especially to attend contests located further way. This happens already and our teachers and coaches are committed to working together to ensure kids stay up-to-date on their assignments and learning.

According to research, there have been no districts identified in which athletic programs were canceled or “significantly adversely affected by school start time change. To the contrary, a number of districts found that more students participated in athletics and that sports programs grew after” bell times were delayed, and teams performed better (Owens, et al., 2014).