Committee Meetings (Dates & Summaries)
Upcoming Committee Meetings:
None scheduled
Superintendent's Recommendation for School Start Times
Updated 4/7/15
Brenda Blackburn, division superintendent, provided her
recommendation for school start times to the school board on April 7.
The presentation can be viewed online.
The superintendent's recommendation is as follows:
- Elementary start time of 8 a.m., dismissal at 2:30 p.m., bus pickup no earlier than 7 a.m.
- Secondary start times of 8:50 a.m., dismissal at 3:35 p.m., bus pickup begins at 7:40 a.m.
- Implementation for 2016-17
The school board is scheduled to vote on the recommendation at the April 21 school board meeting.
January 20 Presentation to School Board
Updated 1/21/15
The School Start Time Committee made a presentation to the school board regarding their findings during their research regarding school start times.
January 12 Meeting Summary
Updated 1/21/15
The committee met again on January 12 and reviewed the survey
results, discussed its recommendation, and developed a presentation for
the Board. Additional resources were added to the School Start Times
website regarding the Hamilton Project, research by Finley Edwards and
survey results.
December 16 Presentation to School Board and Public Forum
Updated 12/19/14
The School Start Time Committee made a presentation to the school board prior to the public hearing on school start times. Thirteen community members spoke at the public forum.
December 4 Meeting Summary
Updated 12/19/14
The School Start Time Committee met December 4, 2014. The committee
reviewed website information and discussed the survey process. A brief PowerPoint presentation
was developed, which committee members will present at the Public Forum
on December 16. Additionally, the committee created a comment form
which will be available at the Public Forum. The committee will convene
again on January 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the School Board Office.
November 20 Meeting Summary
Updated 11/21/14
The second meeting of the School Start Time Committee was held on
November 20, 2014. The committee reviewed possible school schedules and
selected three options that were most feasible. Five surveys to gather
parent and student input were finalized and will be administered in
December. Each survey is designed for a specific audience to include
elementary parents and staff, and secondary parents, staff, and
students. A basic information/question sheet was developed to post
online. This sheet will include questions as well as links to research.
The committee decided to post a You Tube video and all the information
which was reviewed during the first meeting in addition to the
information sheet and research links. Procedures for the December 16th
public forum were shared with the committee. The committee will meet
again on December 4, 2014 and January 12, 2015.
First Committee Meeting Summary
Updated 11/14/14
The first meeting of the School Start Time Committee was held on
November 6, 2014. Mrs. Blackburn welcomed the committee and then Lois
Graham led the session. The session began with an introduction activity
which demonstrated that committee members represent a cross-section of
Montgomery County to include all regions and multiple stakeholders.
After reviewing roles, responsibilities, the resolution on school start
times, and highlights of research the committee participated in two
activities. In the first activity, four possible bus schedules were
provided and comments on the advantages and concerns around each were
gathered. This activity included an opportunity to provide suggestions
for additional schedules and earliest acceptable pick-up times. In the
second activity, committee members worked in small groups to review five
survey documents and provided suggestions for questions and revisions.
The meeting concluded with a discussion about selection of research and
best methods for providing information for the stakeholders. The
committee received several research articles and links to research which
they should review prior to the next meeting on November 20. Following
the November 20 meeting, research will be posted on the MCPS website.
December 5th has also been reserved for a committee meeting and the Board will hear public comments on December 16th.
November 6 School Start Times Committee Presentation
First Committee Meeting Held
Updated 11/7/14
The School Start Times Committee met on November 6, 2014. Committee
members were provided with research about school start times as they
relate to sleep patterns in children and discussed the pros and cons of
different start time schedules.
A list of committee members is available online here.
November 6 Committee Documents
Superintendent Presents Committee Proposal
Updated 10/28/14
The superintendent presented a plan for moving forward with School
Start Times, including the creation of a committee and a timeline for
committee activities and public input opportunities. This information
can be found online here.
Background
The Montgomery County School Board adopted a resolution on October 7,
2014, asking the administration to research school start times. The
resolution specifically stated that it is the goal of the school board
to have middle and high school start times after 8:30 a.m. and
elementary start times after 7:40 a.m. The timeline for this process is
provided below.
- October - November 2014: Develop a
steering committee representing all stakeholder groups and review
relevant research and best practices from other divisions.
- December 2014: Solicit stakeholder feedback
- January 2015: Prepare a recommendation for consideration for the 2015-2016 school year
As the division moves through this process, input will be gathered from staff members, students and parents.
For additional information, the materials presented to the school board are availalbe online at the links below: