Lorain City Schools staff propose later high school start, staggered schedule and extra instructional minutes
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Summary
District administrators presented a proposal to shift high school start to 7:45 a.m., stagger middle- and elementary-school start times, and add 15–20 instructional minutes at lower grade bands; staff said teacher workday would not change and the district will solicit family and staff feedback.
Dr. Graham, an administrator speaking to the Lorain City Schools Board of Education on Jan. 27, outlined a proposal to adjust start and end times districtwide: move the high school start to 7:45 a.m. (with an anticipated 2:43 p.m. dismissal), set middle schools to start at 8:25 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m., and start elementary schools at 9:15 a.m. with a 3:45 p.m. dismissal.
The proposal would also add instructional minutes at lower grade bands — about 15 minutes for elementary and 15–20 minutes for middle school — while keeping the negotiated teacher workday unchanged, Dr. Graham said. The changes are driven by attendance patterns, bus routing and athletics scheduling, he said: attendance at 7:25 a.m. is typically “between about 50–60%” while by 7:45 a.m. “around 80% of our students are in,” and a later elementary start would reduce students walking to school before sunrise.
The district said the shift is intended to increase instructional time and to reduce students being held at school waiting for buses. Dr. Graham described how the current dismissal spacing requires extra holding time for elementary students: “Our high school dismisses at 2:15, and then elementary is 15 minutes later, which means that we're holding students for 15 to 20 minutes waiting for the bus to arrive.” He added that aligning preschool full-day schedules with elementary (moving full-day preschool to the new elementary schedule) is part of the plan.
Board members asked how the district would add instructional minutes without changing teacher contractual hours. Dr. Graham responded that the district would remain within the negotiated bargaining agreement for staff time while reallocating time within the school day to expand student instructional minutes — for example by shifting start/dismissal patterns so unused pre-arrival or post-departure time can be repurposed for students.
Several board members raised concerns about before-school care if elementary start time moved to 9:15 a.m. The district identified three initial options under consideration: expand a partnership with the YMCA (the Y was already piloting before-care at two buildings), pay paraprofessionals to provide before-care, and enlist the district’s volunteer “adopt a school” network. Dr. Graham said the Y indicated optimism about providing before care at multiple buildings and that the district would pursue family and staff input through surveys and public feedback before finalizing changes.
Next steps the district described included posting materials and surveys for families and staff, collecting feedback, and revising master schedules. Dr. Graham said timing allows the district to “do this the right way” and to work through transportation, preschool and before/after-care logistics before any formal adoption.
Context: The presentation followed a recent high school discussion and a change in the district’s middle-school athletic conference that affects travel times. Dr. Graham framed the schedule proposal primarily as an attendance and student-safety initiative, and emphasized that the district would not alter negotiated teacher work hours.
The board did not vote on a schedule change at the Jan. 27 meeting; Dr. Graham said surveys and additional staff/family input would be gathered before any formal action.
