How can you get your kids to school at 9:00 if that’s the same time you’re supposed to be at work?
We all remember the days when we had to wake up at the crack of dawn just to make it to school on time. Or, perhaps more accurately, attempt to make it to school on time. Those early start times made it difficult to get everything in order in the morning before the bell rang, and we all became familiar with the tardy sweep at least once or twice.
Now, a school district in New Jersey is considering changing school start times so students have more time in the morning. They think this will help with tardiness and sleep hygiene. There’s just one thing they didn’t really take into consideration: The parents have to drive them there, and they have to be at work early, too.
Reporting for NJ Advance Media, Rob Jennings shared the unique stance Pleasantville Public Schools has on start times. The school district, which contains four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, currently starts at what could already be considered pretty generous times for public schools. The elementary schools begin classes at 8:50, while reporting times for the middle and high schools are 8:05 and 7:45, respectively.
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I certainly can’t remember a time when school ever started at 8:50 for me, but the rules may be relaxing even more for the approaching school year. The district has proposed that the elementary schools’ classes begin at 9:00, middle school students report at 8:30, and high school students report at 8:00.
Naturally, parents are absolutely flabbergasted by this idea. A school board meeting held on August 12 included a discussion of the potential new start times, and one parent was reported to have asked, “Did you take into account that parents have to be at work in the morning?” Indeed, if you’re working a typical nine-to-five job, you have to be there at 9:00. How are you supposed to get your kids to school at the same time?
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Parents’ concerns about a 9:00 start time for their elementary schoolers are certainly understandable. However, you do have to wonder if they may be taking the situation a bit too far. The current start time for the schools is 8:50 a.m., just 10 minutes before 9:00. As far as we know, no one complained about getting to work when kids had to be at school at 8:50.
And, if elementary school is anything like it used to be (you know, back in the dark ages), a 9:00 start time would mean that students have to be there before 9:00 to be on time. The bell will ring at 9:00, at which point you will be considered tardy. Elementary schools are typically equipped with holding rooms for students who arrive at school early, even before the classrooms open up, so dropping off your kid early so you can get to work shouldn’t be the end of the world.
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The National Education for Statistics examined students in kindergarten through 12th grade and found that tardiness rates were about 3.3% to 9.5% daily. Depending on the day, that could mean an awful lot of students are late to class.
While 10 minutes more isn’t an awful lot, it could be the buffer students need to ensure they get to school on time and are ready to learn when they do. Hopefully, those 10 minutes will be a blessing instead of a curse.
For parents in a bind when it comes to work, carpooling with other parents is always an option. And if that’s still not going to get you out of the house with enough time to commute to work, Junior might just have to sit at school with the rest of the early kids. It’s a good opportunity to get any homework done that they didn’t do the night before!
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Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
