Issue: May 16th 2016, Waddell parents received a notice from Principal Timothy Martino, alerting us to a new school schedule effective August 2016.The schedule stipulates that school would begin at 8:00AM—fifteen minutes earlier than the current start time, and twenty-five minutes earlier than the 2013 school start time. Dismissal would be at 2:45. We do not feel that sufficient notice was given about the School Board meeting at which this issue was voted on. Consequently, important opinions and perspectives were not represented at that meeting.
Request: This change, which affects all Waddell families, impacts our families, our work schedules, childcare arrangements, and the quality of our daily lives. We feel that the Lexington City School Administration had a duty to solicit our feedback collectively. There are many ways this could have been done, through a questionnaire in the Monday folder or an on-line survey, for instance. We write to request that our feedback about the matter be taken into consideration.
The undersigned respectfully request later start and dismissal times for Waddell Elementary School. We would like to instate an 8:15-8:25 drop-off time and a 3:00PM pick-up time.
Rationale:
- Children need more, not less sleep. K-5 children need an average of 10 hours of sleep a night.[1] From a recent study on elementary school start times: “‘The relationship between earlier start times and poorer academic performance may be explained by the physical, behavioral and psychological ramifications of sleep deprivation,’ the researchers wrote. ‘Students may therefore lose the ability to remain alert and focused in the classroom.’”[2] Another factor that underscores children’s need for more, not less, sleep is that some children are pubescent in this age range (and early puberty is becoming a national epidemic).[3] Consequently, students in this elementary-school age bracket may have the same sleep needs as adolescents, and therefore will require more than the average of 10 hours.
- Children need more, not less time with parents. An 8:00AM start time means getting children out of the house earlier. Working parents, however, don’t get to see their children any earlier (despite the earlier dismissal time). We end up with less time with our children, and a more hurried morning, which negatively affects the limited morning time we do have with our children.
- Smooth running households need consistency. Families are juggling, at a minimum, multiple sets of demands: work, homework, extracurricular reading, and afterschool activities, to say nothing of the everyday needs of dinner, bathing, and necessary down-time for play (we are, after all, speaking of children). We are now in a position to try to reconfigure our work days and or babysitting schedules.
- Incompatibility with Rockbridge County schools and extracurricular activity schedules. This earlier dismissal time creates an unusable window of time between the end of school and the start of afterschool programs. As the county school system will still release at 3:00, extracurricular activities will need to wait in order to include children from both school systems. Over the year, it all adds up: the time we are not with our children, the time they don’t have to sleep, the time we spend struggling to reschedule our lives, and the money we spend on 15-20 minutes extra babysitting time. We recognize that administration must juggle a number of concerns, such as families with children in both schools, when instituting a new schedule. Likely, you have given great thought to adolescent (middle school) sleep schedules, which may be one of the reasons for pushing back the start time for Lylburn Downing Middle School. Such a wonderfully proactive step does not mean, however, that we should reduce the sleep time for elementary school children. In that scenario, we are, as the adage goes, robbing Peter to pay Paul. We thank you for your consideration of these issues, and for your continued leadership as principal and superintendent. We look forward to working together with you both on this and future issues.
[1] https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times
[2] http://phys.org/news/2014-08-elementary-school-ear...
[3] Bouvattier and Pienkowski, Early Puberty: Latest findigns, diagnosis, treatment, long-term outcome, 2015.
Updates
May 24, 2016
Seeing this much momentum is heavy and exhausting but it proves we were right to speak up. I am tired of fighting for basic acknowledgement yet the scale of this response keeps me moving forward.
18 Comments
If The Lexington City School System is seriously going to entertain the idea of a 2:45 release (which I hope will be overturned), then there needs to be an affordable after-school program for working parents to use. I realize this is another topic, but it will be vital to those of us who CANNOT pick up at 2:45 dues to work schedules. When I pulled my child out of the YMCA after-school care, I was being charged more for a couple hours 3 days a week than I pay for my toddler's daycare for an entire week. Working parents are important to the community. I hope Lexington City Schools will consider that and help accommodate our careers. Please do not change the schedule that has been working just fine for everyone!!!
I've always requested a work schedule so that I can pick up my children at 3:00pm. If the pickup is now at 2:30, I won't be able to make it any more, and that would be quite a burden on my family.
I wholeheartedly agree. The earlier start time also conflicts with families of preschoolers at Woods Creek Montessori, with their later start time of 8:20-8:45.
In December and January the sunrise in Lexington is between 7:20 and 7:33. With this in mind a start time closer to 8:15 or 8:25 (the previous norm at Waddell) seems very reasonable for our growing elementary children
As a grandmother who helps with the children, i must agree with the parents on this one. I can't see how it would help anyone, particularly the children, to rob them of more sleep.
I am a former Waddell parent, a Jackson Avenue resident and a concerned colleague of W&L faculty parents of elementary school-aged children.
I wholeheartedly support a later start time. My son is no longer with Waddell and his new elementary school in Maryland runs 9-3:45. He is happier and our life is so much easier with this later schedule. No family with working parents can handle 2:45 pickup time. Parents have the right to know who would actually benefit from 2:45 pickup time.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via . Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Copy link or share directly
Issue: May 16th 2016, Waddell parents received a notice from Principal Timothy Martino, alerting us to a new school schedule effective August 2016.The schedule stipulates that school would begin at 8:00AM—fifteen minutes earlier than the current start time, and twenty-five minutes earlier than the 2013 school start time. Dismissal would be at 2:45. We do not feel that sufficient notice was given about the School Board meeting at which this issue was voted on. Consequently, important opinions and perspectives were not represented at that meeting.
Request: This change, which affects all Waddell families, impacts our families, our work schedules, childcare arrangements, and the quality of our daily lives. We feel that the Lexington City School Administration had a duty to solicit our feedback collectively. There are many ways this could have been done, through a questionnaire in the Monday folder or an on-line survey, for instance. We write to request that our feedback about the matter be taken into consideration.
The undersigned respectfully request later start and dismissal times for Waddell Elementary School. We would like to instate an 8:15-8:25 drop-off time and a 3:00PM pick-up time.
Rationale:
- Children need more, not less sleep. K-5 children need an average of 10 hours of sleep a night.[1] From a recent study on elementary school start times: “‘The relationship between earlier start times and poorer academic performance may be explained by the physical, behavioral and psychological ramifications of sleep deprivation,’ the researchers wrote. ‘Students may therefore lose the ability to remain alert and focused in the classroom.’”[2] Another factor that underscores children’s need for more, not less, sleep is that some children are pubescent in this age range (and early puberty is becoming a national epidemic).[3] Consequently, students in this elementary-school age bracket may have the same sleep needs as adolescents, and therefore will require more than the average of 10 hours.
- Children need more, not less time with parents. An 8:00AM start time means getting children out of the house earlier. Working parents, however, don’t get to see their children any earlier (despite the earlier dismissal time). We end up with less time with our children, and a more hurried morning, which negatively affects the limited morning time we do have with our children.
- Smooth running households need consistency. Families are juggling, at a minimum, multiple sets of demands: work, homework, extracurricular reading, and afterschool activities, to say nothing of the everyday needs of dinner, bathing, and necessary down-time for play (we are, after all, speaking of children). We are now in a position to try to reconfigure our work days and or babysitting schedules.
- Incompatibility with Rockbridge County schools and extracurricular activity schedules. This earlier dismissal time creates an unusable window of time between the end of school and the start of afterschool programs. As the county school system will still release at 3:00, extracurricular activities will need to wait in order to include children from both school systems. Over the year, it all adds up: the time we are not with our children, the time they don’t have to sleep, the time we spend struggling to reschedule our lives, and the money we spend on 15-20 minutes extra babysitting time. We recognize that administration must juggle a number of concerns, such as families with children in both schools, when instituting a new schedule. Likely, you have given great thought to adolescent (middle school) sleep schedules, which may be one of the reasons for pushing back the start time for Lylburn Downing Middle School. Such a wonderfully proactive step does not mean, however, that we should reduce the sleep time for elementary school children. In that scenario, we are, as the adage goes, robbing Peter to pay Paul. We thank you for your consideration of these issues, and for your continued leadership as principal and superintendent. We look forward to working together with you both on this and future issues.
[1] https://sleepfoundation.org/media-center/press-release/national-sleep-foundation-recommends-new-sleep-times
[2] http://phys.org/news/2014-08-elementary-school-ear...
[3] Bouvattier and Pienkowski, Early Puberty: Latest findigns, diagnosis, treatment, long-term outcome, 2015.
Updates
May 24, 2016
Seeing this much momentum is heavy and exhausting but it proves we were right to speak up. I am tired of fighting for basic acknowledgement yet the scale of this response keeps me moving forward.
18 Comments
Glad to see this petition as I was going to write to the school as well. I agree for all the excellent reasons stated that starting at 8 AM is too early. I would vote for later start time, but definitely not for the earlier change that I know may have been trying to help another faction of the school system. Between our young children's need for sleep and the parent's work schedule, this change is nearly impossible for so many families. Respectfully, please do change this start time as requested. Thank you.
If The Lexington City School System is seriously going to entertain the idea of a 2:45 release (which I hope will be overturned), then there needs to be an affordable after-school program for working parents to use. I realize this is another topic, but it will be vital to those of us who CANNOT pick up at 2:45 dues to work schedules. When I pulled my child out of the YMCA after-school care, I was being charged more for a couple hours 3 days a week than I pay for my toddler's daycare for an entire week. Working parents are important to the community. I hope Lexington City Schools will consider that and help accommodate our careers. Please do not change the schedule that has been working just fine for everyone!!!
I've always requested a work schedule so that I can pick up my children at 3:00pm. If the pickup is now at 2:30, I won't be able to make it any more, and that would be quite a burden on my family.
I wholeheartedly agree. The earlier start time also conflicts with families of preschoolers at Woods Creek Montessori, with their later start time of 8:20-8:45.
In December and January the sunrise in Lexington is between 7:20 and 7:33. With this in mind a start time closer to 8:15 or 8:25 (the previous norm at Waddell) seems very reasonable for our growing elementary children
As a grandmother who helps with the children, i must agree with the parents on this one. I can't see how it would help anyone, particularly the children, to rob them of more sleep.
I am a former Waddell parent, a Jackson Avenue resident and a concerned colleague of W&L faculty parents of elementary school-aged children.
I wholeheartedly support a later start time. My son is no longer with Waddell and his new elementary school in Maryland runs 9-3:45. He is happier and our life is so much easier with this later schedule. No family with working parents can handle 2:45 pickup time. Parents have the right to know who would actually benefit from 2:45 pickup time.
Help this petition grow
Share it with friends to help reach 100 signatures.
Sign Petition
We never post to your account. Social sign-in is used only to verify your signature.
Add a comment?
Your signature will be added via .
Tell others why you're signing — it's optional.
Signing with Google or Facebook verifies your signature instantly — no email needed.
By signing, you accept iPetitions Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Share Petition
Don't stop at signing, share the petition link with friends to multiply our impact
Petitions like this
Other petitions you might want to support
Scan to share
Anyone who scans this can sign the petition.
Glad to see this petition as I was going to write to the school as well. I agree for all the excellent reasons stated that starting at 8 AM is too early. I would vote for later start time, but definitely not for the earlier change that I know may have been trying to help another faction of the school system. Between our young children's need for sleep and the parent's work schedule, this change is nearly impossible for so many families. Respectfully, please do change this start time as requested. Thank you.