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Parents and students press West Hartford board to reconsider school start times
Summary
Residents and middle-school students urged the West Hartford School Board to reconsider secondary-school start times during public comment; the board discussed the issue but took no vote or formal action on changing start times.
Public comment at the West Hartford School District Board of Education’s Nov. 7, 2018 meeting centered on proposals to change secondary-school start times.
Marybeth Callan Serdechny of 115 Grennan Road and several students, including Julia Deane and Serena van der Hulst of Sedgwick Middle School, urged the board to reconsider current schedules, saying later start times would benefit adolescent sleep and learning. Other residents — Mary Fleischli, Suzanne Tenser Chaletsky, Abiah Clarke Ruel, Nora McHugh, Dahlia Pendergrasi, Alyssa Donnelly, Nancy Barnum, Liz Santoro and Annie Donovan — also spoke in favor of reviewing start times during the public comment periods.
Superintendent Tom Moore acknowledged that the district is "rethinking school start time" and answered board questions about next steps; Moore told the board there are "many questions" that will need to be addressed before any decision. The public comments and the superintendent’s remarks indicate that the matter remains under study rather than ready for a board vote.
Why it matters: Secondary-school start times affect students’ sleep, transportation scheduling, family routines and extracurricular activities. Board members and school staff have signaled that they plan to examine data and implications before bringing a formal proposal back to the board.
Next step: The board did not take a formal vote on start-time policy at the Nov. 7 meeting. The issue remains on the district’s radar for future discussion and possible action.
