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School start-time committee says final recommendation expected in March after broad community participation
Summary
A volunteer district committee that includes parents, staff and students reported steady progress toward a recommendation on school start times and said it will present final options to the board on March 18.
A volunteer School Start Time Committee convened by the Elmbrook School District reported steady progress and told the board it expects to deliver a recommendation at the March 18 meeting.
Committee member Jacob Eisen told trustees the group formed after the board authorized a task force; more than 80 community members applied and about 70 regularly attend meetings. The committee has also included nine student participants from the district's high schools and middle schools.
Eisen said the committee has held multi-hour sessions to review sleep-research position statements and examine local data, including attendance and co-curricular participation. The group is working in smaller subgroups to draft start-time scenarios, identify likely policy changes, and develop a district survey to solicit wider community feedback.
Eisen summarized the research: as adolescents enter puberty biologically driven circadian changes make earlier start times problematic and many experts recommend middle and high schools start later so students can obtain the nine hours of sleep the research indicates is healthy for teenagers. He also underscored the operational complexities that accompany start-time changes: the district uses a multi-tier busing model, extracurricular schedules (including athletics and performing arts) would shift, childcare arrangements would change, and some neighborhoods may require additional safety or crossing-guard adjustments.
"We averaged about 70 individuals per meeting," Eisen said, noting that the committee has used table work, follow-up virtual meetings and a structured agenda to reach consensus on options it will present to the board.
Next steps include finalizing the scenarios, drafting the community survey, collecting and analyzing survey results, and bringing the committee's recommendation to the board by March 18. The committee also noted that cost estimates and operational impacts (for example, additional bus runs or changes to extracurricular schedules) will need to be evaluated before the board takes action.
Why it matters
Research and district data suggest later start times can improve adolescent sleep and health; any change would also affect transportation and after-school activities and would likely require community engagement and possible budget adjustments.
What's next
The committee will finalize proposed start-time options, field a district survey, analyze results and provide a recommendation to the board on March 18. Operational and cost details will follow if the board asks the administration to pursue a particular option.
