OT School Start Times/open Lunch

[Just-a-Mom]

OK I'll give you a mom's perspective. I agree a lot with what ashscott41 said.

So, my thoughts:

This may be harsh, but I think this absolutely ridiculous. I'm inclined to say the kids in your district sound a little overindulged. Both high schools my older daughter went to (in Virginia Beach and Chicago, so 2 different districts in 2 different states) she didn't get lunch. Not open, closed, or whatever - no lunch at all, so I can't even wrap my head around having this argument. She had to schedule lunch as a class if she wanted it, and it didn't fit in her schedule. So I'm not overly sympathetic to a bunch of 14 and 15 year olds who are upset about not being able to go to Arby's. Check out other districts around the country and I think people where you live might be a little more appreciative of what you have. Getting a lunch period at all is becoming a luxury.

As for times, she went to school every other day until noon and on the opposite days until 2:40. Both days she started at 7:50. In Chicago she went from 8am to 3pm. Having the high school start so early and the elementary late was a real issue for me - I had to beg my boss to let me start at 9:30 because I couldn't drop little cp off until 8:40. I'm sort of indifferent to high school start times, as long as they left time in the day for sports and still get home before it got too dark (in the city the kids ride public transportation home, so I'm not real excited about kids riding the city bus and walking blocks from the stop at night). I think there's pros and cons to both - if you go in early, you get out early. Yay - long afternoon to do other things. If you go in later, you get to sleep a little more. Yay - who doesn't love more sleep? But I see what you're saying about the clubs. Since the majority of high school students can get themselves to and from school without parent help, those times don't really matter as much to me.

As for start times for elementary, as a mom I have to say I like "the earlier, the better" because I got places to be! If I can drop cp off at 7:30, then I can get somewhere. It used to be 8:40 - bosses don't like moms of kids with 8:40 drop off times.

I think it's great that you guys have chosen a way to fight for what you want in a way that might actually get someone to listen, but I obviously think this energy could be spent fighting for more worthwhile things. Good luck.

ETA: We don't have buses, so no scheduling worries there. Almost all kids in Chicago either walk, ride with parents, or use bus/train to get to school. So they can really time opening and closing any way they want for each school here without having to worry about other schools. Which I guess is good - there are a few hundred schools, and no one goes by district (we have school choice, so it's easy for a parent to have one kid that goes to school downtown and one that's 30 minutes away on the North side) - so that'd be a LOT of scheduling conflicts if they had to consider it!

 

[cheernerd5678]

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

Yeah that's why they're changing our start times, they're trying to have it so they don't have to have a million busses to bus everyone. We are going to have 3 high schools, like 6 middle schools, and then like 10 elementaries or something like that?

 

[CheerMom3285]

In my district we have a variety of things still happening and I feel it needs to change but this is how it goes:

Start Times:
Elementary PreK-5th (2) - 9:00am
Middle (1) 6th-8th - 7:40am
High School 9th-12th (1) - 7:20am

Lunches:
Elementary - Two Grade levels have lunch at a time, I think have about 40 mins.
Middle - Lunch goes by grade level, get about 45 mins each
High school - On a 9 period schedule, their are 3 "periods" for lunch and the 1st of the 3 is "Senior" lunch and you may go off campus for lunch but only if you are in good academic standing and yes they do check. If you return back from lunch late you did get in trouble. The only way an underclassman was in "Senior" lunch was if another class interfered with the other lunches (ex. AP classes) The other 2 lunches were mixed with the other grade levels. Lunches were around 47 mins.

Overall I think this is an ok setup. But I personally don't think kids need to go off campus for lunch. Too many kids can go and do things they should be doing during that time and its just not good. We should be keeping our kids in the schools.

Just my thoughts

 

[SmileyRyleigh]

We don't have open lunches at my school. I'm not sure about other schools in my county. Elementary gets 40 minutes, middle school gets 30, and high school gets 25. I leave after 3rd period so if i'm hungry i just go get something to eat after school.
Elementary: 7:45-2:45
Middle & High School: 8:30-3:30
-I take a 7 a.m. class which is offered at my school because of over-crowding. (we currently have 2600 something kids at our school.) So I go to school from 7:00-1:21 Mondays and Wednesdays; and 7:00-2:00 Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
-Our school has "Early release" on Wednesday where the high school gets out at 2:45 rather than 3:30. Some other schools in my county have late start where they go at 9:30 and get out at the regular time once a week.
-We have block scheduling which means we only take 4 classes a semester. There are 4 lunch blocks during our 3rd period. Lunches are by academies that the teacher of your class is in. (Ex. you could be in the Liberal Arts academy but your 3rd period teacher is in the STEM academy, so therefore you go to STEM lunch and not liberal arts.) They do try to do classes by academy, but if you're in Liberal Arts you're not going to have a Math teacher who is also in Liberal Arts. (We have 4 academies. Liberal Arts; Health Science; BLPA (business, law, and public affairs), and STEM.(science, technology, engineering, math.)
-We have extension which is 30 minutes extra in a class. Mondays we have 4th period extension, which means you go to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 4th. I leave after 3rd Monday since I don't have a 4th period and 7 a.m. doesn't have an extension. Tuesdays we have 3rd period extension, so you go to 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 3rd, 4th. Wednesdays we have advisory, which i personally think is pointless because we do nothing but sit there for 30 minutes. It's like a home room, but you only go once a week.. your advisory class is by academy, and then last name. So Wednesday's schedule is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, advisory, 4th. and that day you have early release so classes are shorter. Thursdays the schedule is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 2nd, 4th. and Fridays it is 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 1st, 4th. It sounds confusing but you get used to it.

 

[TinyBlondie15]

At my high school, class starts at 9:15. You either have A, B, or C lunch depending on who your 4th period teacher is. All lunches are CLOSED. We are located in an area where it takes at least 10 minutes to get somewhere to eat. We have the same schedule everyday. Classes are 45 minutes each and lunch is 30 minutes. I have A lunch so I go to my first 3 classes then I go to lunch. After lunch I have 4th through 7th and get out at 3:40. Being a senior, I get out 5 minutes earlier than the Freshman through Juniors who get out at 3:45. My elementary school in Oregon started at 7:50. I don't remember what time we got our but I believe it was sometime around 2. Lunches were separated by grades (3 grades per lunch) and only certain grades could sit at certain tables. In middle school we started at 8:15 and got out around 3:30/4 if I remember right. There were lunches based on what grade you were in (i.e. kindergarteners ate with only kindergarteners, 1st graders with 1st graders, etc.). Both my elementary and middle schools were private catholic schools so everything was strict. My high school is still very strict and sometimes I think they're crazy (no hats, no tank tops, no short shorts (must be finger tip length (i.e. when you put your arms by your sides, the ends of your shorts may only be as short as to where the ends of your fingertips are), and selling more parking passes than there are spaces).

 

[INeverStopCheering]

Elementary schools have either an early (8:20 to 2:50) or late schedule (9:20 to 3:30). Middle
Schools are all 8:20 to 2:50. High schools are all 7:20 to 1:50. My high school has what's called O.N.E. ( opportunities never end ) lunch. All grades eat together for 40 minutes. We are not restriced to a cafeteria (though we have 2, one is senior exclusive), we can eat in the halls, in classrooms etc. Nowhere in our county are we allowed to leave for lunch

 

[Audrey]

My high school had a system I've never heard of anyone else using. We only took 3 classes at a time but we had them every day and changed classes at the end of the semester. I loved it like this because it gave us really short school days. Freshmen and sophomores went to school 9:45-3:15, juniors and seniors 8-1:30. My senior year I got to just go to school 8-11:15. If you wanted to take an extra class, you could opt to go 8-3:15. A lot of sophomores tended to do this to lighten the load for their junior years.
We had open campus for everyone. I'm honestly not sure if I liked it or not. It was really fun because my school was downtown and 5 minutes from the beach so we had a lot of places to go. But on the other hand, it really robbed us of any sense of community and school spirit. There wasn't a lot of interaction between social groups outside of class because no one was ever on campus.

 

[fiercerando88]

I do not understand how high schools start so late in other areas! My hs (MA) warning bell rang at 7:15 and class started at 7:20. We were out at 1:50 and sports practices and games started at 2:30. Depending on the sport and whether it was a practice or game, you weren't getting home until 6:30/7. How do these school work around sports practices? I feel like we'd be practicing in the dark all the time! The hs I work at now (NH) starts at 7:35 and gets out at 2:25. A lot of our sports teams have to travel 1+ hours to play their games (yay for rural areas ) so there are quite a few occasions where kids and coaches/teachers (like myself) are dismissed early in order to get to the game in before dark. During field hockey we were dismissed at 12:30 once and had a 2.5 hour bus ride, played the game, then came home around 9pm. I just do not see that happening in some of these schools who start so late!

I also don't get the open lunch thing. I'm with Just-a-Mom and ashscott41 that it's just not necessary. My high school stopped it about 5 years before I got there, and we all survived just fine without it. I'm just trying to picture that happening, and I can almost guarantee that no one would come back to school if they were allowed to leave for lunch. This would especially be the case with the school I work at now given their lack of an attendance policy (something I hate). Sorry, but you're in school to learn, not go out for a casual lunch with friends. Just seems ridiculous to me, not to mention a huge liability issue. How do schools handle that aspect of it? (Yes, I'm seriously curious about that if anyone wants to answer!)

 

[TinyBlondie15]

fiercerando88 For your thing about sports, getting out at 3:45, the Varsity team usually got to go home and get ready but be back by 5:30/6 ready to go as the game started at 7 on Friday. JV would stay after school, get ready there and the game would start at 6 on Thursday.

 

[fiercerando88]

fiercerando88 For your thing about sports, getting out at 3:45, the Varsity team usually got to go home and get ready but be back by 5:30/6 ready to go as the game started at 7 on Friday. JV would stay after school, get ready there and the game would start at 6 on Thursday.

I'm assuming that's for football, which makes sense, but what about other sports? My kids would not have time to play sports and do homework if we got out that late.

 

[cheernerd5678]

I also don't get the open lunch thing. I'm with Just-a-Mom and ashscott41 that it's just not necessary. My high school stopped it about 5 years before I got there, and we all survived just fine without it. I'm just trying to picture that happening, and I can almost guarantee that no one would come back to school if they were allowed to leave for lunch. This would especially be the case with the school I work at now given their lack of an attendance policy (something I hate). Sorry, but you're in school to learn, not go out for a casual lunch with friends. Just seems ridiculous to me, not to mention a huge liability issue. How do schools handle that aspect of it? (Yes, I'm seriously curious about that if anyone wants to answer!)

Everyone comes back to school for us... they always tell us "freedom with responsibility" so we know that if people aren't coming back, they'll take it away. So people have been coming back for 35 years! Especially since we have AUT (alternating unassigned time) and the "career center" that's across the parking lot (another building with specialty classes like welding, agriculture, laser tech, culinary, etc) so kids leave the building all the time. If they were going to leave it wouldn't be difficult at all, and they wouldn't wait till lunch to do so! lol they've never had an issue with it and it's been this way since the school opened.(we also have a pretty strict attendance policy, if kids are skipping their parents definitely find out about it)
I agree with Just-a-Mom though, i mean, we are spoiled. But lprofessors at Mizzou have said that Rock Bridge kids are more prepared for college because we have had the freedom and have learned how to be responsible with it. It's not necessary for us, but it's nice to have.

 

[INeverStopCheering]

My high school is still very strict and sometimes I think they're crazy (no hats, no tank tops, no short shorts (must be finger tip length (i.e. when you put your arms by your sides, the ends of your shorts may only be as short as to where the ends of your fingertips are), and selling more parking passes than there are spaces).

Thats not strict, thats every high school in America

 

[fiercerando88]

Everyone comes back to school for us... they always tell us "freedom with responsibility" so we know that if people aren't coming back, they'll take it away. So people have been coming back for 35 years! Especially since we have AUT (alternating unassigned time) and the "career center" that's across the parking lot (another building with specialty classes like welding, agriculture, laser tech, culinary, etc) so kids leave the building all the time. If they were going to leave it wouldn't be difficult at all, and they wouldn't wait till lunch to do so! lol they've never had an issue with it and it's been this way since the school opened.(we also have a pretty strict attendance policy, if kids are skipping their parents definitely find out about it)
I agree with Just-a-Mom though, i mean, we are spoiled. But lprofessors at Mizzou have said that Rock Bridge kids are more prepared for college because we have had the freedom and have learned how to be responsible with it. It's not necessary for us, but it's nice to have.

That's interesting. Just can't see it working where I am. Guess I hope it works out for you!

 

[ashscott41]

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.

It's about more than just Rock Bridge though; these changes are for a whole district (one of the biggest and most influential in the state) and affect half of Columbia. Even as a college student, your start times will effect me because of traffic changes. They aren't taking anything away from freshmen if they've never had it. If it were up to me, I would close all lunches for the whole district. Like fiercerando88 said I legitimately don't understand how it's not a huge liability issue. When I worked for a major pharmacy chain we weren't allowed to drive anywhere while on the clock because its such a liability. If we wanted to go out for lunch we had to clock out and clock back in. And that policy was for people who had been driving much longer than teenagers. As for fitting everyone in, enrollment numbers will be lower and a third lunch could easily be added in and staggered with the others. Another thing I've heard of is allowing for "working lunches." A few teachers will open their rooms as basically a study hall during lunch to get more kids out of the commons/caf area and its time to get extra help. IMO 10-15 minutes to get through a lunch line isn't bad. It would take you that long at a fast food place anyway.

I regularly had 6am meetings for student council and other clubs met at 630-645, so those times aren't unusual for other MO schools. Theater was huge at my high school and there were definitely times when theater/art/band/choir got to school before 6 and left after 10. Time commitments for all organizations were announced ahead of time and if you didn't like it then you didn't join, or you made sacrifices to join that club. Just-a-Mom makes a great point about elementary kids starting so late that it makes it hard for parents to get to work on time. I think it's great that the students are being so involved in all of these changes, and I also love that the administration is listening to what y'all have to say. I just don't understand why all of this bellyaching from the students is happening in the first place, but maybe I'm just old fashioned or something.

 

[cheernerd5678]

That's interesting. Just can't see it working where I am. Guess I hope it works out for you!

Well I definitely can't see it working without an attendance policy! That's like ASKING kids not to come back!
TinyBlondie15
my school sells more parking passes than there are spaces too! they'll sell them to everyone... (well sophomores can't park in the lot, they have to park in sophomore alley and then walk, but it's right across the street)
ashscott41 idk what they do about the liability stuff, but they've been doing it for 30+ years so I guess they have something figured out? I really don't care about freshmen having open lunch but apparently everyone else thinks we need to be "fair" to them and give them a chance. LIFE ISN'T FAIR GUYS. plus they can't drive so they can really only walk to one or two places. It's not going to hurt them if they don't get open lunch...
I like that we can get our voices heard though Even if it's about a silly issue like open lunch!!