A Message from Superintendent Joshua P. Starr

Bell Times Work Group Report

Dear Colleagues,



Last December, I asked a group of staff and community members to put together a report about school starting and ending times in MCPS and the impact they have on the education, health, and well-being of our students. I also asked them to provide me with some options I could consider for changing bell times.

The 2013 Bell Times Work Group Report was released today, along with my recommendation that MCPS consider pushing back high school start times by 50 minutes and extending the elementary school day by 30 minutes. The release of this recommendation is just the beginning of a communitywide discussion that will seek input from a broad array of stakeholders, including staff. We will also take the next several months to determine the budgetary and operational impact of my recommendation.

Once I have all the necessary information and feedback, we will make a final decision. It is important to note that if we ultimately decide to make any changes to our bell times, they will not take effect until the 2015-2016 school year, at the earliest. The changes I’m recommending we fully evaluate are:

Move high school start times 50 minutes later from 7:25 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. (school ending at 3 p.m.)

Move middle school start times 10 minutes earlier, from 7:55 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. (school ending at 2:30 p.m.)

Keep elementary school start times as they currently are (8:50 a.m. and 9:15 a.m.), but extend the school day by 30 minutes (school ending at 3:35 p.m. and 4 p.m.)

I am making this recommendation because I believe it is in the best interests of our students. There is extensive research that demonstrates that adolescents are simply not getting enough sleep. This is a public health and safety issue. If we are truly committed to the well-being of our students, we must consider the feasibility of adjusting our start times to support their health and success.

The elementary school day in MCPS is currently 6 hours and 15 minutes, which is 30 minutes shorter than our middle and high schools. MCPS has the second-shortest elementary school day in the state of Maryland. An extra 30 minutes would add the equivalent of 14 instructional days to the calendar, allowing us to provide more learning opportunities for our students and our staff. We will collaborate closely with our employees, our associations, and the community to study the impact of this change and determine the best use for this additional time.

I realize my recommendation may have a substantial impact on the lives of our students, families, staff, and school communities. That’s why we will take the necessary time to gather extensive input from our community and study all aspects of implementing this recommendation before making a final decision next year. We will be releasing our engagement and communication plans around this topic in the next couple of weeks. I encourage you to read the Bell Times Work Group Report and my recommendation to learn more about this important topic.

As always, thank you for all you do for our students each and every day. I look forward to discussing this recommendation with you in the coming weeks and months.

Sincerely,

Josh

Learn more about the Bell Times Work Group report and my recommendation