OT School Start Times/open Lunch

[cheernerd5678]

So our school district is moving freshmen to the HS next year (they have been at the jr high). They've proposed a lot of new changes, and we're trying make a difference so that they don't make drastic changes to the system that are unfair to highschoolers.
An organization called Students Say was created by some of my peers, to help get our voices heard. Read more about what we've done here: kbia.org/post/columbia-public-schools-re-examines-school-start-times and see/follow our twitter here: CPS Students' Say (Students_Say_) on Twitter
So now that we got them to move our start time to 8:10 instead of 7:20, we're trying to decide our position on open lunch and our position on middle schools/elementary schools start times so we can tackle those issues next. So I'm just trying to get other people's opinions... (Not taking opinions as fact or anything, just wondering how other people feel about the issue)

Do your high schools have open lunch? Do they have it for all grades? Do underclassmen have to do anything to earn it? What's your opinion on the issue? (Open lunch: open campus during lunch, kids can go get lunch from somewhere off campus)
What time do your middle schools start? Elementary? Are the times good/bad for students? What would ideal start time (or starting order) be, in your opinion?

 

[Ems]

My high school was 9-12th, and had open lunch for upperclassmen only. The student parking lot is right by the exit to the school, and all student ID's were checked prior to leaving. There were other ways out of campus by walking, but it led you straight into residential areas and far away from anywhere to get food if walking.
I liked having the open lunch for upperclassmen only. It was something you looked forward too and cherished when you finally could go off campus. Though I think it was mainly in place because many upperclassmen can drive and there is really no other way to get food off campus during our 50 minute lunch break. Though it could be revoked if you were constantly late to your class after lunch.
All of the schools in my area, elementary up to high school, all start around 8am give or take 10 minutes. I liked the time (though now it seems insane in college.) It gave enough time after school to play with friends in elementary school and do sports in middle and high school, but still have time to study and do homework in the evenings.

 

[cheernerd5678]

My high school was 9-12th, and had open lunch for upperclassmen only. The student parking lot is right by the exit to the school, and all student ID's were checked prior to leaving. There were other ways out of campus by walking, but it led you straight into residential areas and far away from anywhere to get food if walking.
I liked having the open lunch for upperclassmen only. It was something you looked forward too and cherished when you finally could go off campus. Though I think it was mainly in place because many upperclassmen can drive and there is really no other way to get food off campus during our 50 minute lunch break. Though it could be revoked if you were constantly late to your class after lunch.
All of the schools in my area, elementary up to high school, all start around 8am give or take 10 minutes. I liked the time (though now it seems insane in college.) It gave enough time after school to play with friends in elementary school and do sports in middle and high school, but still have time to study and do homework in the evenings.

50 minute lunch :O ours is 30 minutes!

 

[Ems]

50 minute lunch :O ours is 30 minutes!

Geez! And I thought 50 minutes was WAY too short. How do you have time to even eat in that amount of time???

 

[cheernerd5678]

Geez! And I thought 50 minutes was WAY too short. How do you have time to even eat in that amount of time???

Well we have a 7 minute passing period after lunch, so it's really 37 minutes. When our school was built, there were no restaurants around it, but all these restaurants moved in around us so it doesn't take long to get to where you're going to eat. Usually people get takeout and either eat it back at school if they have time, or eat it in their 3rd hour. Those of us who stay at school do fine, we usually kind of linger for a while because we have extra time at the end of lunch! I guess it's cuz in elementary, lunch was 20 minutes, in middle, it was 25, then junior high and high school had half hour lunches, so we've been trained to eat fast!

 

[SmileCat]

Do your high schools have open lunch? Do they have it for all grades? No, and yes. All students eat lunch at one time and it's open to eat anywhere ON campus.
Do underclassmen have to do anything to earn it? What's your opinion on the issue? (Open lunch: open campus during lunch, kids can go get lunch from somewhere off campus) We do not allow kids to leave campus for lunch, but many upperclassman do get away with it mainly because they can drive.
What time do your middle schools start? Elementary? Elementary, Not exactly sure but around 8:45? Middle; 9:40. High; 7:05
Are the times good/bad for students? What would ideal start time (or starting order) be, in your opinion? I personally like the early start (even though I go an hour later) Because we get out earlier (1:50). For me, I go 8-12). I would love to sleep in but I would hate to leave school at such a late time and not have time to do stuff before work/practice.

 

[ashscott41]

I really hope this post doesn't come off stalkerish or harsh or weird haha I go to mizzou and my roommate's dad is the superintendent of CPS so I'm familiar with everything you're talking about! The one thing I've wanted to say this whole time is that life isn't fair and people need to stop feeling so entitled to everything. You sometimes have to accept changes that you may not like. I've seen so much whining about things not being fair and it has really made me hate all of this discussion. For start times yes it may be better for everyone's attention spans if elementary started first and MS/HS started later. That might not work as well for parents working jobs though. More parents will have to find daycare for their kids after school if they go earlier. As for open lunch, I 100% disagree with freshmen and sophomores getting open lunch, and really don't understand why it's necessary for older kids. I realistically don't see how younger kids could walk anywhere other than Jimmy Johns or Arby's from RB. At Hickman it would be more feasible and I can't think of anything near Battle. Letting kids leave during lunch is a massive insurance liability. If somebody gets hurt in an accident that's just a lawsuit waiting to happen. I just don't see why it's necessary. It might be a cool privilege for seniors once a week, but I don't get why everyone thinks open lunch is needed. If you don't like school lunch that's fine, you now have more time in the morning to make lunch to bring to school. And bringing lunch is so much healthier than eating fast food.

To answer your questions: in my hometown elementary schools started at 835 and 6th grade and up started at 735. These start times were fine. Of course there were mornings I was tired, but it helped me a ton when I had 8 AMs freshman year of college. There was no open lunch for our middle school or high school. I don't remember how long lunch was when we were younger but in high school it was 25 minutes.

Eta: I think the reason I'm so fed up with the whole "unfair changes" thing is that my grade ALWAYS had the changes applied to it and we turned out just fine. We stayed in elementary schools a year longer, in middle schools a year longer, was the last class to go to an awful middle school that had to be torn down due to asbestos, and basically had to be freshman two years in a row (we were the last freshman class to go to our high school so we were youngest for 9th and 10th grade). Tons of changes that are just part of life you have to deal with it without all this entitlement. You get what you get and you don't throw a fit. And now that I'm reading this all sounds mean. So sorry about that I'm just fed up haha

 

[cheernerd5678]

I really hope this post doesn't come off stalkerish or harsh or weird haha I go to mizzou and my roommate's dad is the superintendent of CPS so I'm familiar with everything you're talking about! The one thing I've wanted to say this whole time is that life isn't fair and people need to stop feeling so entitled to everything. You sometimes have to accept changes that you may not like. I've seen so much whining about things not being fair and it has really made me hate all of this discussion. For start times yes it may be better for everyone's attention spans if elementary started first and MS/HS started later. That might not work as well for parents working jobs though. More parents will have to find daycare for their kids after school if they go earlier. As for open lunch, I 100% disagree with freshmen and sophomores getting open lunch, and really don't understand why it's necessary for older kids. I realistically don't see how younger kids could walk anywhere other than Jimmy Johns or Arby's from RB. At Hickman it would be more feasible and I can't think of anything near Battle. Letting kids leave during lunch is a massive insurance liability. If somebody gets hurt in an accident that's just a lawsuit waiting to happen. I just don't see why it's necessary. It might be a cool privilege for seniors once a week, but I don't get why everyone thinks open lunch is needed. If you don't like school lunch that's fine, you now have more time in the morning to make lunch to bring to school. And bringing lunch is so much healthier than eating fast food.

I agree with that 100%. Not everything is fair - if you're a freshman, you don't necessarily get the same rights as a senior! We don't need freshman and sophomores to be equal to juniors and seniors. However, I see both sides of the story.
I think the issue that people have is that Rock Bridge always stresses "freedom with responsibility," but they are taking away opportunities from Freshmen. They aren't giving them a chance to prove themselves - they've done nothing wrong, and they're getting "privileges" taken away. I don't think Freshmen need open lunch - I didn't get it when I was a freshman! But a lot of people think they should have a chance to prove themselves...
Also, they tried to take open lunch away from EVERYONE just because there's nothing near Battle. and that's not "fair" (which is ridiculous). There was nothing near RB when they opened, but they still had open lunch. Now there's all sorts of restaurants. IMO, Battle can deal. Eventually, restaurants will move out there. Their school is nicer than every other school, so they can't really complain!
As a sophomore, I've gone out to lunch twice this entire year. I don't really think it's necessary for us at all, but at the same time, they're trying to take away a privilege that nobody's abusing. I think it makes sense for underclassmen to not get open lunch, but I'm apparently the minority in that.
The real problem is, if they take away open lunch, and have more students in the school, where are they going to put us? Anyone who's been in RB knows that our cafeteria is only about twice the size of my bedroom, if that. It's not big enough for everyone. Even with open lunch, it takes kids 10-15 minutes to get through the lunch line. How will they provide for all of us?
As for school start times, I just feel like Rock Bridge is such a big school that if they moved it earlier there wouldn't be enough time for all the activities. I like it how it is now, but we can't keep that time. But if we move it earlier, that means band and show choir have to come in at 6 AM, because their practice spaces are used after school. Lots of clubs meet before school, and they're the only ones I can go to, since I always have practice... so I don't want to go to a club meeting at 6:45 AM. Not all the clubs can fit after school, there are too many of them for it to be plausible. Still haven't decided my opinion on the middle school/elementary. I kind of think that middle schoolers should start first, b/c they're old enough to be home alone. And now that they got rid of zero hour algebra (which, and I speak from personal experience, was torture and I barely passed and learned nothing) there's nobody who has to be at school an hour early for a class, so it's doable.

 

[Whit_Marieee]

Our highschool is 9-12 and we don't have open lunches at all. We have 45 minutes for lunch, but a first lunch and a second lunch based on your class schedule. We used to have open lunches, but they stopped that my freshman year because kids wouldn't come back to school, and you were only allowed to leave if you were over 18. We start at 8:00 sharp and first lunch is at 11:18. Second lunch is at 12:09... yeah, my school is awful.

 

[cheernerd5678]

Our highschool is 9-12 and we don't have open lunches at all. We have 45 minutes for lunch, but a first lunch and a second lunch based on your class schedule. We used to have open lunches, but they stopped that my freshman year because kids wouldn't come back to school, and you were only allowed to leave if you were over 18. We start at 8:00 sharp and first lunch is at 11:18. Second lunch is at 12:09... yeah, my school is awful.

Wow, for a second I definitely thought you meant your school went from 9AM to noon and I was super confused....
Yeah everyone pretty much comes back to school here, they're just worried that the freshmen will be late.... IDK why since the rest of us aren't late, but that's one of the concerns. I don't think the kids who are skipping school are using their lunch breaks as an escape... idk I don't know any kids who skip school, so I'm not sure how big of an issue that is.
So is your lunch shift split in half, like you eat lunch, go to class, eat lunch again? Or does half the school have first lunch and half the school has second? We have "A" and "B" lunch at 11:07 (A) and 12:49 (B) I have A lunch on B days and B lunch on A days, and when I have B lunch I'm STARVING.

 

[Whit_Marieee]

Wow, for a second I definitely thought you meant your school went from 9AM to noon and I was super confused....
Yeah everyone pretty much comes back to school here, they're just worried that the freshmen will be late.... IDK why since the rest of us aren't late, but that's one of the concerns. I don't think the kids who are skipping school are using their lunch breaks as an escape... idk I don't know any kids who skip school, so I'm not sure how big of an issue that is.
So is your lunch shift split in half, like you eat lunch, go to class, eat lunch again? Or does half the school have first lunch and half the school has second? We have "A" and "B" lunch at 11:07 (A) and 12:49 (B) I have A lunch on B days and B lunch on A days, and when I have B lunch I'm STARVING.

No! hahah I should've explained myself better! That's completely my fault I'm sorry. It's been a long day. The kids that are going to skip school skip the whole day. It's not a big deal, but it's still something that happens here. You either have first lunch or second lunch! If you have first lunch you go to first period through 4th period and then eat lunch and go fifth period through eighth period after! If you have second lunch you go first period through fifth period, eat lunch, and then go back to class sixth period through eighth period! And we get out at 3:15!

 

[BuegeSmalls]

Our Junior High (no longer around, got rid of it my sophomore year) started at 7:20. High school started at 8:01, middle school I think was 7:20 and elementary started at 8:00 I think.

At the high school seniors have open lunch and juniors can earn it for second semester. You earned it by your attendance history and maybe your GPA, can't remember that part.

 

[CheerBank]

Start times approximate: High school 7:25, Middle School 7:50, Intermediate school 8:50, Primary school 9:15.
No open lunch at the HS anymore; there was a horrific car accident involving seniors a few years ago and they changed their policy after that.
Lunch times for MS and HS range and start as early as 10:30.

 

[Emily Jane]

I don't live in America but my school is split into two parts; the high school which is ages 11-16 (I think this is like middle school and freshman and sophomore years) and the sixth form which is ages 16-18 (I think the equivalent of junior and senior years).

Our school day looks like this:
Registration - 8.40am - 8.55am
Period 1 - 8.55am - 9.45am
Period 2 - 9.45am - 10.35am
Break - 10.35am - 10.50am
Period 3 - 10.50am - 11.40am
Period 4 - 11:40am - 12.30 pm

Period 5 - 12.30pm - 2.00pm (including 30 minute Lunch break)​

Period 6 - 2.00pm - 2.50pm

Lunch is split during period 5 into 3 blocks; blue (12:30-1:00 with an hour long lesson after), purple (1:00-1:30 with the lesson split into two half an hour sections before and after lunch) and green (1:30-2:00 with an hour long lesson before). Your lunch time is determined by what room your lesson is in during period 5. The high school students aren't allowed to leave school at all during the day (they have lessons during all periods and have to stay in school for break and lunch) and sixth formers can leave during their free periods, break and lunch, it's kind of a sixth former perk.

 

[cheermomforever]

We have 18 schools so bussing has to be spaced out. High school (2)begins at 7:35,-2:15 Middle (4) is 8:05 -3:00 and elementary is either 8:40 or 9:20. We live in front of the high school and my kids are not allowed to leave for lunch. I hate packing lunches and wish they could! I know they split lunch time with class time