School supervisors in one of New Jersey’s larger districts are cautioning that state legislators are considering setting an early high school start time of 8:30 am.
Hamilton director Scott R. Rocco did not disagree with the proposal, but outlined potential complications in a letter to three lawmakers this week. There are 23 schools in his Mercer County district, including three high schools, with 12,400 students from kindergarten to high school.
“Time changes in high school are a single domino in a long line. Moving this affects many other things in the day-to-day operations and annual planning of all schools in the school district, and the entire family and community. Has an external influence on the community, “Rocco wrote in a letter sent Thursday and retrieved on Friday. NJ Advanced Media.
Rocco risks enacting state-wide high school start-time obligations that affect transportation and after-school activities, violate union contracts, and inconvenience families without sufficient time for local planning. I wrote that there is.
“If this is the direction in which our elected officials feel we have to go, we are good enough to be able to identify the impact of this change and plan it appropriately. You have to be given time, “Rocco concludes.
His letter was sent to three members of his district, including Senator Linda Greenstein in District D-14.
New Jersey Parliamentary bill sponsors, including Speaker Craig Coughlin and D-Middlesex, cite the impact of poor sleep on students’ mental health, and the coronavirus pandemic is adolescent. He said it exacerbated the incidence of anxiety and depression.
Chatham High School in Morris County recently announced that it will return the beginning of high school day from 7:40 am to 8:20 am in September.
“We can agree that the last two years have been a challenge for our students and the community,” Rocco wrote in his letter.
“Recovery from a pandemic requires social and emotional support and mental health services as children return to their pre-pandemic routines for school and extracurricular activities. In addition, the benefits of overnight rest No one disagrees with, so students can be more focused and productive at school, “Rocco writes.
In his letter, Rocco writes that transportation costs for the 2022-23 school year are projected to increase by 10% to 15% due to fuel costs and a shortage of drivers.
“Changing the high school start time can increase additional costs if the district cannot stratify the start and end times to maximize bus routes and usage,” Rocco wrote. increase.
Rocco writes that Hamilton’s high school now starts at 7:50 am, middle school continues at 8:25 am, and elementary school continues at 8:45 am.
“To accommodate changes in high school, we need to change the time at all 24 schools in the district. The impact is not just on high school students, but on all students and their families who have established routines on school days. I will give it, “he wrote.
He added that after-school activities, especially sports, are another possible complication.
“Hamilton has no lights on our playground, so outdoor activities are limited to daytime hours and decrease daily in the fall. Changing the start time will delay the end time of school, so after school Limits the amount of time available, “he writes.
Five years ago, New Jersey was ranked 12th earliest in the country with an average high school start time of 7:51 am. This is the latest compilation available from the Federal Center for Educational Statistics.
Rocco was appointed as a 2022 director by the New Jersey School Administrators Association last November.
please Subscribe now We support reliable local journalism.
Rob Jennings may reach at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com..
