Please take note the undersigned parents, guardians or caretakers of students in the Rosewood Elementary, Middle and High School feeder pattern, respectfully request that the members of the Wayne County Board of Education, immediately begin the process of returning the school start/stop times to those of the 2018 school year. In support of this request, see Board Policy 1010 which states “The Board will provide a system of schools and establish general policies keeping with the needs of the COMMUNITY” and is “to be an advocate for the school system, staff and ESPECIALLY FOR STUDENTS.” We understand the recent change in school time was based on a request by an administrator, not the needs of the community or the students. Further support for our immediate request, please see the below research article that sites an earlier start time for high school students’ effects students in a negative way with:

*higher levels of depression, lower performance outcomes, “including grades earned in core subject areas of math, English, science and socials studies, plus performance on state and national achievement tests”. Additionally, the same study reports “the number of car crashes for teen drivers from 16 to 18 years of age was significantly reduced by 70% when a school shifted start times from 7:35 AM to 8:55 AM.” (Examining the impact of later High School start times on the health and Academic Performance of High School Students by the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota 2014)

Moreover, the current start/stop times unnecessarily puts inexperienced teenage drivers on the road at the same time adults are heading to work and the EXACT same time elementary students are being transported to school. The Middle school start time puts our most vulnerable girls on the side of the road waiting for a bus without supervision. According to FBI statistics, 80% of child abductions by strangers occur within ¼ mile of a child’s home and the most common group is females age 12-17. Understanding that Wayne County, NC consistently ranks in the top 10 counties in North Carolina for sex trafficking, and in lieu of the above, it is strongly recommended that the start times for all three Rosewood schools should be immediately restored to the 2018 school year times and an effort should be made across the county to model their times after the ORIGINAL Rosewood feeder pattern time.