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Montgomery County school board hears plan to add daily instructional minutes for middle schools; many board members and students oppose earlier start times
Summary
District staff proposed eliminating the 25–26 minute IE (intervention/enrichment) period and reallocating that time into longer daily class periods, or alternatively shifting start times slightly earlier to gain instructional hours. Board members and student public commenters raised concerns about younger students’ wake times, bus logistics and loss of social time; the board asked staff for more analysis and broader community and teacher input before directing any change.
District administrators presented a two-option plan aimed at increasing middle-school instructional time and improving lagging test performance.
Interim assistant superintendent Dr. Amanda Widner and director of secondary education Dr. Lori Comr told the board their primary goal was to give teachers more time each day for mini-lessons, guided practice and small-group intervention. The proposal would eliminate the 25–26 minute IE period and either (A) start first period at 7:42 and expand periods to 54 minutes, adding roughly 69 hours of instructional time across a 180‑day year, or (B) start at 7:49 for 53‑minute periods and still recover substantial extra minutes over the school year.
"Our data show a dip between fifth and sixth grade in reading and math that we never fully recover from," Dr. Widner said. She described teacher survey results indicating roughly 65 percent of teachers believe longer class periods would better integrate intervention and enrichment into daily instruction.
Student public commenters and multiple board members urged caution. Student Betty Thomas told the board she rides a bus and opposed shifting middle schools earlier, saying, "Not getting enough sleep" is a major factor for students and warning that cutting social/IE time could worsen absenteeism and suspension-related removals from instruction. Fiona Freilley, a middle-school student, said IE time provides social connection and help for students and asked, "If we get rid of this, then what will happen to the people who are passing their classes and just want to do something fun at the end of the day?"
Board members pressed presenters on the data and logistics. Dr. Gitri cautioned that the analysis included COVID‑era cohorts and asked for deeper explanations and teacher input; she noted research favoring later start times for adolescents. Miss Bond, Miss Parton and others raised safety and family-work concerns about buses that might start pickups as early as 6:20–6:30 a.m. if routes were adjusted. Mr. Roberts and Miss Franklin said they could not support an earlier start time that would place younger children at bus stops significantly earlier.
Several trustees suggested alternatives to an earlier start: extending the school day at the end rather than shifting morning pickups; piloting semester or block schedules that lengthen core classes; or shortening IE only for certain grades (for example, treating sixth grade as a transitional year). Board members asked for more teacher and community engagement, further analysis of chronic absenteeism and gifted/special‑education service delivery, and a clearer explanation of the cohort choices in the district's slide deck.
Dr. Widner summarized the board direction: administrators should return with more options and deeper analysis — including transportation modeling, community feedback, and a plan to maintain targeted services (literacy labs, special education supports and gifted services) if IE were restructured. The board did not vote on any schedule change tonight.
Next steps: staff will gather broader teacher and community input, refine transportation and staffing analyses, and return with additional options and data before any timeline or policy change is advanced.
