Parents, teachers and students urge rollback of early-grade iPad use and warn proposed start-time change will hurt extracurriculars

Several parents, teachers and students used the public-comment period at the Fairport Central School District Board of Education meeting on March 18 to press the board on two related issues: reducing screen time for young children in classrooms and reconsidering a proposed 2026 shift in school start times that would move Fairport High School to a 9:00 a.m. start and a 3:45 p.m. dismissal.

Carrie Brewer, a Fairport parent and assistant professor at Finger Lakes Community College, told the board that research and classroom experience have led her to restrict screens for her incoming kindergartner. “Young children can and should learn the skills they need to thrive in the digital age without the potentially harmful effects of screens on their young brains,” Brewer said, urging the board to consider rolling back routine iPad use in lower grades.

The meeting drew multiple speakers who raised closely related concerns about proposed start-time changes that the district is studying for implementation in 2026. Carrie Klein, a longtime district teacher and Fairport graduate, said later school dismissal…