Skip to content
  • About GFP
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Advertise on Greenwich Free Press
  • Payments

Greenwich Free Press -

Greenwich Free Press (https://greenwichfreepress.com/letter-to-the-editor/letter-zero-hour-programming-is-a-students-choice-they-will-benefit-from-other-four-days-of-later-start-89815/)

More
  • News
    • Letter to the Editor
    • Obituaries
    • Sports
    • Transportation
    • Weather
  • Gov’t
  • Around Town
    • Holiday
    • Volunteering
    • Giving
    • Parenting
  • Police & Fire
  • Lifestyle
    • Food Drink Restaurants
    • People & Culture
    • Health
    • Arts
  • Business
  • Real Estate
  • Schools
  • Dogs
  • Categories
    • News
    • Gov’t
    • Around Town
    • Police & Fire
    • Lifestyle
    • Business
    • Real Estate
    • Schools
    • Dogs
  • About GFP
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter Sign-up
  • Advertise on Greenwich Free Press
  • Payments

Letter: Limited before school activities don’t defeat purpose of changing GHS start time

By: greenwichfreepress | June 20, 2017
Tweet
Print

Letter to the editor Re:  “Teachers Union Warns BOE: Cracks Are Forming in School Start Time Change,” submitted on June 20, 2017 from Valerie Erde and Wheatleigh Dunham of Start School Later, Greenwich

At last Thursday’s Board of Education meeting, Greenwich Teacher’s Union President, Carol Sutton, raised an important issue regarding later school start times and activity scheduling at Greenwich High School.

Ms. Sutton is correct that what is called “zero hour” programming (before school activities) will result in some students not getting the full benefit of later school start times as it relates to their health, well-being, and academic performance.

And Start School Later does not generally support “zero hour” programming.

However, what is entirely missing from Ms. Sutton’s comments to the Board of Education at their June 15 meeting is any quantification of the impact of zero hour programming.

The vast majority of the school’s nearly 2,700 students (85% to 90%) will benefit from an 8:30 start time five days a week.

Students who choose to go in at 7:30 a.m. one day a week for an already existing “zero hour” extra-curricular club, or who choose an elective class that requires a one-day per week before school practice (e.g. band, We The People section of AP U.S. Government) will be no worse off on those specific days than last year, and will be far better off on the other four days of the week.

It is one thing to allow some students to choose to get up early for an extra-curricular on non-core elective, and something completely different to force more than 2,600 students to come in every day for core academic courses at an hour that has been clearly shown to jeopardize their health, well being, and academic performance.

It should be obvious that a change with the potential to make almost every student better off from a health standpoint, and virtually no one worse off, is a change that should be made. We believe that is precisely why the BOE voted for the change and we hope that Ms. Sutton, in her role as head of the teachers’ union, would recognize this and continue to educate her member teachers on the importance of this change for students, and to encourage teachers to give the new schedule a try before they request moving any new activities before school.  (And unlike after-school activities for which students who take the bus have a late-bus option, as there is no “early bus,” zero-hour classes and activities require students and families to struggle with transportation and sibling care arrangements on those days.)

We can allow students to choose to get insufficient sleep if they want to assume that risk, but we should not force them to. The Board, GPS, and GHS administration should make every effort to limit zero-hour programming and they need to create a clear policy about if, and how, any requests to move previously after-school activities to before school will be handled.

If the goal of changing start time is to make sure that the majority of our students can get the medically recommended amount of sleep, the majority of school days, so that they may excel in their primary reason for attending school – receiving an education – then even if there’s some limited zero-hour programming for a handful of elective classes and extra-curriculars, the start time change will achieve the goal:

Old Start Time 7:30 a.m.
2,600+ students: harmed 5 days a week.

300+ students**: harmed 5 days a week plus extra harm at least 1x per week for a 6:30 a.m. – 7:00 a.m. required practice or club

New Start Time 8:30 a.m.
2,300+ students: improved health 5 days a week

300+ students: improved health 4 days a week, not good sleep 1 day a week, but still better than 6:30 a.m.

(** number of students reported to the School Start Time Committee as participating in a before school class/activity.)

Valerie Erde & Wheatleigh Dunham, Start School Later, Greenwich

See also:

Teachers Union Warns BOE: Cracks Are Forming in School Start Time Change 

GHS Student Government: Leaders Pass Torch ahead of School Start Time Change


Image

Email news tips to Greenwich Free Press editor [email protected]
Like us on Facebook

Twitter @GWCHFreePress

Subscribe to the daily Greenwich Free Press newsletter.

 

Tweet
Print
Filed Under:
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Greenwich High School
  • Start School Later Greenwich
  • Valerie Erde
  • Wheatleigh Dunham
  • More About
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Greenwich High School
  • Valerie Erde
  • Wheatleigh Dunham
  • LWV President: Don't Let Biden Inauguration be Overshadowed by Partisan Discord

    "Some – including many in Congress – continue to insist that the election in some states was fraudulent. Their continued insistence undermines our democracy and empowers those who use intimidation and violence to advance their cause. These people are not patriots defending our country against enemies. They are the opposite." – Sandy Waters, President, LWV Greenwich

  • LITTMAN: Being silent is a choice.
  • LETTER: It is time that we demand more from our leaders and from ourselves. Be the example.

View all Letter to the Editor Posts →

  • Greenwich High School Seniors Named as Top 300 Scholars in 2021 Regeneron Science Talent Search

    Program alumni of the Regeneron Science Talent Search include recipients of the world’s most coveted science and math honors, including 13 Nobel Prizes, 11 National Medals of Science, six Breakthrough Prizes, 21 MacArthur Foundation Fellowships and two Fields Medals.

  • Sun Shines on Marie D'Elia's 100th Birthday in Greenwich
  • GHS Grads Create Scholarship in Memory of Track Coach "Mongo"

View all Greenwich High School Posts →

  • Parents, Students Line up to Share Feedback with BOE on New School Start Time

    Greenwich Board of Education. Sept 14, 2017 Photo: Leslie Yager

    Complaints after 8 full days of the new school start times ranged from buses being late to impacts on scheduling sports practices and games. Many thanked the BOE for the change and said students are getting to school alert and that the benefits last throughout the day.

  • Letter on School Start Times to BOE, Superintendent: "The Issue is Not Going Away"
  • Superintendent's School Start Time Recs: I Will Not Be Here. Someone Else Will Have to Do It... I Have Hope

View all Valerie Erde Posts →

  • Newly Formed Superintendent's Start/Dismissal Time Steering Committee Exchanges Thoughts

    "This shouldn’t be polarizing. It should be done without throwing out the science of sleep. I fear this will bee seen in the context of a political movement. We're honoring the science of sleep, but realizing some small adjustments could make a big difference – we will not surrender or retreat." – GHS headmaster Chris Winters

  • LETTER: Respect GHS Neighbors, Restore Reasonable Use of Greenwich Public School Facilities

View all Wheatleigh Dunham Posts →

Previous Post
Witness Tip Leads to DUI Arrest of Greenwich Man
Next Post
GHS Student Government: Leaders Pass Torch ahead of School Start Time Change

Popular Posts

  • UPDATE: Bank of America Branches Temporarily Closed;…
  • Greenwich RTC: Riots Disguised As Protests Undermine…
  • WATERS: A Clear and Present Debacle for Local Republicans
  • Yale New Haven Health to offer COVID-19 Vaccinations…
  • Cos Cob Man Charged after Grabbing Victim by Throat
  • Greenwich Covid-19 Update: A Downward Trend Despite…
  • Sun Shines on Marie D’Elia’s 100th…
  • LITTMAN: Being silent is a choice.
  • Governor Lamont Expands Phase 1b of Covid-19 Vaccine…
  • GPD: Man Caught in Stolen Jeep Pleads the Fifth
Tweets by @GWCHFreePress

Newsletter Sign-up

* = required field

powered by MailChimp!
  • New Canaanite
  • Darienite.com

In Case You Missed It

Barbara Ann Dalton, 75

Barbara Ann Dalton, a resident of Greenwich for 30 years, passed away peacefully at home on January 13, 2021, after a courageous five-year battle with cancer. Barbara was born on January 24, 1945 in New Rochelle, NY to the late Charles F. Dalton and Mildred O’Neill Dalton.

Greenwich Botanical Center Schedules Beekeeping 101

The Greenwich Botanical Center is offering their annual Beekeeping 101 seminar virtually by Zoom on Jan 23, 2021. Led by Natalya Johnson, a local Greenwich Beekeeper, the class covers all the basics of beekeeping and how to get started from ordering bees, hardware, and supplies.

Search This Site

Browse Archives

© Copyright 2021, Greenwich Free Press

  • New Canaanite
  • Darienite.com

This site built with Project Largo from the Investigative News Network and proudly powered by WordPress.

Back to top ↑