In addition to launching a search for a new superintendent, the Snoqualmie Valley School District is busy continuing to 
examine a potential change to school start times, possibly as early as the 2018-19 school year.
In December a School Start Time survey was pushed out to the community, but according to Assistant Superintendent Jeff Hogan, none of the four options presented hit a 50% support level. One option that moved elementary start times to 9:30 and middle and high school start times to 8AM received slightly more support than the other options presented.
Since that December survey, the district has also concluded that a three-tiered bus schedule just is not feasible, so the two survey options based on such a busing schedule are no longer considerations.
A consultant studying the feasibility of changing to three-tiered busing, along with some examination by the district’s transportation department, both arrived the same general conclusions: that the cost was too high; more routes lowers efficiency so state funding for transportation could decrease; and more drivers and buses would be needed – and as it stands now, the transportation department is sometimes short-staffed.
Take School Start Time Survey #2 HERE. It will be available through April 6th.
Option 1:
- Elementary School: 9:25 am to 3:46 pm
- Middle School: 8:00 am to 2:54 pm
- High School: 8:00 am to 2:39 pm
Option 2:
- Elementary School: 8:00 am to 2:21 pm
- Middle School: 9:15 am to 4:09 pm
- High School: 9:15 am to 3:54 pm
Assistant Superintendent Hogan warned that there is also a possibility that the district may not be ready to make a start time change next year.
The School Start Time Committee, which was launched in September, will meet when the results from the latest survey have been received – probably in mid-April.
The new survey is also available on the SVSD homepage starting Friday, March 23rd.
Comments
Having a third survey option for the current start times would be a good metric to add to the decision process. For those who don’t know, current M-Th start/end times are as follows (pulled from District website today – link below):
Elementary: 9:05 – 3:26
Middle School: 7:40 – 2:34
High School: 7:40 – 2:19
https://www.svsd410.org/cms/lib/WA01919490/Centricity/Domain/4/2017-18%20Belltime%20Schedule%20to%20post%20-%20updated%208-29-17.pdf
I can see the interest in pushing the start times for MS and HS a bit later. But giving elementary parents only two options that are an hour and a half apart doesn’t seem like much of a choice. My kindergarten son’s current start time of 9:05 is perfect for him and our family. Beginning his school day at 8 would mean making him get up at 7, and that isn’t fair to him. But not beginning his day until almost 9:30 means I can’t hold a job that starts before 10 at best. I can’t think I’m the only parent in the district who would be negatively affected in this way by such alterations.
Can it be that the reason previous new options didn’t receive overwhelming support is that they didn’t improve upon the current schedule? We are new to the area, so forgive me if this has been covered already – but I didn’t catch the rationale in support of changing school start times. What is the hope around what this may accomplish?