Overview of the Issue - Baltimore County Public Schools



Baltimore County School Health CouncilReport of the Workgroup on School Start TimesMarch 2018Overview of the IssueIn 2014, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a policy statement that included the following recommendation: “middle and high schools should aim for a starting time of no earlier than 8:30 am.”As children enter puberty, two significant physiologic changes impact their sleep. There is a delay in the release of melatonin, a hormone that produces sleepiness, from the brain. In addition, the “sleep drive” develops more gradually in adolescence, meaning that teenagers require a longer period of time to fall asleep. Although teenagers continue to require 8-10 hours of sleep each day, their ability to fall asleep is biologically delayed until closer to 11:00 pm.The 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) indicated that nationally, more than 50% of middle school students and more than 70% of high school students reported insufficient sleep. Baltimore County students have similar rates of insufficient sleep; the 2014 YRBS, showed that 76% of Baltimore County high school students reported getting less than 8 hours of sleep. There are many factors that feed into their sleep deprivation, including social media, screen use, lack of fixed bed times, and scheduling concerns. Lack of sufficient sleep is believed to cause a number of health and academic problems, including:Increased risk of motor vehicle accidentsIncreased risk for mental health disorders, particularly anxiety, depression and suicidal ideationImpaired executive function (working memory, organization, time management and sustained effort)Poor school attendanceIncreased risk for obesity.Starting middle and/or high school later has been associated with a number of improvements in child health and academic performance, including the following:Improved graduation and attendance ratesImproved grade point average Improved moodIncreased length of sleep.A variety of organizations, including the National PTA and National Education Association, have endorsed the need for school districts to aim for start times that allow students the opportunity to achieve optimal levels of sleep.Key FindingsRegional InvestigationBCPS high school start times are consistent with other jurisdictions in Maryland.JurisdictionHigh School Start Time September 2017Anne Arundel County7:30 a.m.Baltimore County7:25 a.m. – 1 school7:30 a.m. – 3 schools7:40 a.m. – 3 schools7:45 a.m. – 15 schoolsCarroll County7:30 a.m.Harford County7:30 a.m.Howard County 7:25 a.m.Montgomery County7:45 a.m.Prince George’s County7:45 am – 13 schools8:30 a.m. – 6 schools8:40 a.m. – 1 school8:45 a.m. – 1 school9:00 a.m. – 1 school9:30 a.m. – 7 schoolsThis issue has been extensively explored by other Maryland jurisdictions in the past 5-7 years (notably Anne Arundel, Howard and Montgomery counties.)Proposals developed by other jurisdictions in Maryland for delaying start times for high schools have typically included one or the following modelsFlip school schedules by beginning elementary or middle schools press school start times with a fixed window for all school schedules.Delay high school openings until a specified time, thereby delaying the opening of elementary and middle schools by a corresponding amount of time.Despite extensive study, other Maryland jurisdictions have not made significant changes to their school schedules.Anne Arundel County delayed high school start times by 13 minutes and middle and elementary school start times by 15 minutes. High school start time is now 7:30 a.m. throughout the county.Howard County has abandoned plans to compress school schedules in the 2018-19 school year. In 2017 the Board adopted a plan to adopt a schedule that began high schools no earlier than 8:00 a.m. and all schools no later than 9:25 a.m. In December 2017 the Board voted to rescind this action, citing costs.In 2015, Montgomery County delayed middle and high school start times by 20 minutes and lengthened the elementary school day by 10 minutes. High school start times are 7:45 a.m.ConsiderationsACADEMICSIn order to mitigate impairments in learning due to sleepiness in first period classes, some systems have explored flexible scheduling, including rotating/alternating first period classes and student-specific accommodations for school schedules. Later middle and high school start times may improve student achievement. An analysis of middle school student math and reading performance in Wake County North Carolina revealed a statistically significant difference in scores on end of grade test scores in math. Students with later school start times performed better on math tests. A similar pattern was seen for reading test scores but was not statistically significant. A study in Florida showed a similar pattern; students whose schools started later (in relationship to sunrise) had higher math and reading scores.Later high school start times may improve student attendance and graduation rates. In one study, high school start times later than 8:30 am were statistically linked to improved attendance and graduation rates. However, the lack of a control group for this study made it difficult to ascertain with certainty this association, particularly for graduation rates.ATHLETICS AND OTHER RECREATIONAL ACTIVITIESLater dismissal of high schools may impact interscholastic sports in the following ways:Increased need for lighted fields.Reduced availability of referees/officials. Referees and officials often work multiple events in the evening hours. Current BCPS athletic schedules maximize availability of officials.Reduced availability of transportation. Later ending times for school will increase competition for BCPS and contracted buses, reducing the availability of buses in the late afternoon hours.Increased costs for security. Later games are associated with increase in security concerns and are likely to require additional supervision.Faculty concerns about required supervision of frequent late evening events.Increased pressure for early school dismissal for athletes, particularly for those involved in regional events.Increased pressure on students to complete homework very late at night because of later events. BCPS has a shared-use agreement for facilities and fields with the Department of Recreation and Parks. Any changes to BCPS schedules could reduce the availability of resources for recreational programming that occurs before and after the school day.FAMILY & CHILDCAREImpact of school schedule changes may disproportionately and negatively affect families with lower incomes. In a study from Minnesota, lower income families reported more disruption due to changes in school schedules; impacts included lack of affordable child care, needing to change jobs (related to lack of flexible work hours and child care needs), and increase in student absences (related to missing early buses and not having transportation). Changes in school start times will alter the needs for child care.Later high school start times may potentially increase the availability of older siblings for before school supervision of young siblings.Later high school dismissal times may decrease the availability of older siblings for after school supervision of young siblings.The magnitude of these impacts is very difficult to determine.SAFETY & TRAFFICHigh school schedules that reduce the amount of time adolescents are unsupervised in afternoon hours may reduce crime. According to the Department of Justice, violent crimes by juveniles spike in the hours immediately following the closing of school, which is when students are often unsupervised. Ability to shift elementary schedules is limited by daylight and safety concerns. Young students will not be able to be scheduled to arrive at bus stops or return home outside of daylight hours.Shifting school start times later may result in increased bus travel time because of the convergence with rush hours. TRANSPORTATIONMost changes that delay high school schedules result in increased costs for transportation due to the need for additional bus routes. The 13 minute shift in Anne Arundel County start times was estimated to cost an additional $618,000. Anne Arundel estimated the cost of a proposed 8:30 a.m. high school start time to be over $8 million. Howard County Board of Education estimated $6 million - $9 million in additional transportation costs to implement one of the recommended models. Montgomery County estimated the cost of a proposed model to flip school schedules to be between $9 and $12 million. No costs were anticipated to result from the proposal to shift all school start times later by 25 minutes.UNIQUE ASPECTSBCPS has a number of unique factors that must be considered when making decisions about school schedules. These factors add complexity to decisions and limit the ability to directly apply solutions proposed for other jurisdictions and include:magnet programs, regional programs for students needing ESL and special education services,the unique geography of Baltimore County.RecommendationsThe problem of adolescent sleep deprivation is multi-faceted. School start times are not optimally aligned with teenagers’ sleep cycles. Other factors also impair the sleep practices of teenagers, including a lack of understanding about their sleep needs and the increased use of cell phones and other digital distractors that interfere with sleep. Solutions to this complex issue must keep in mind the following:Solutions must support instruction & achievementSolutions should not adversely impact less affluent students and familiesSolutions must consider safety factors.Solutions must consider extracurricular impactSolutions must be fiscally viable.There are numerous factors that have affected other Maryland jurisdictions’ efforts to delay middle and/or high school start times. In order to effectively address the sleep needs of adolescents while balancing other factors, the workgroup recommends that BCPS develop a strategic planning process. The strategic plan should consider short and long term steps to support student sleep and include sufficient resources to effectively analyze options. Specifically, the workgroup recommends that the strategic plan include:Short term steps that promote adolescent sleep, including:Education of parents, students and teachers about sleep needs of adolescents and best practices to promote optimal sleepConsideration of scheduling options to mitigate the effects of sleepiness on academic performanceDevelopment of a plan to align magnet school start times with other high school start times,Adoption of classroom practices that support sleep, including elimination of midnight deadlines for homework and provision of non-digital homework options to reduce light in the hour before bedtime.A long term plan that balances and supports the health, education and social needs identified in this report and that:Evaluates and garners community support for any change in school start times,Includes funding to support staff or consultant resources for the transportation department to evaluate proposed changes,Identifies necessary resources for any proposed transportation changes (e.g., funding, contracts, buses and drivers as needed), andIdentifies and mitigates barriers to/unintended effects of later middle and high school start times (e.g., increase child care accessibility, increase lighted field access, etc.)Workgroup on School Start TimesMembership ListMaria Bieneman, Baltimore County Department of Recreation and ParksAndra Broadwater, ParentErin Cammarata, School Psychologist, Baltimore County Public SchoolsKimberly Ferguson, Director, Student Services, Baltimore County Public SchoolsLaurie Frisch, School Nurse, Battle Grove ElementaryKelly Gold, School Nurse, Loch Raven HighDr. Linda Grossman, Bureau Director, Baltimore County Department of HealthLisa Kay, ParentDr. Scott Krugman, Chairman, Department of Pediatrics, MedStar Franklin SquareDr. Alan Lake, Chairman, Baltimore County School Health CouncilDavid McCrae, Director, Transportation, Baltimore County Public SchoolsKristin Miles, Fiscal Supervisor, Transportation, Baltimore County Public SchoolsMurray Parker, Principal, Western School of TechnologyChet Scott, Principal, Owings Mills ElementaryDebbie Somerville, Coordinator, Health Services, Baltimore County Public SchoolsMichael Sye, Coordinator, Athletics, Baltimore County Public SchoolsJanet Teter, Senior Supervisor, Transportation, Baltimore County Public SchoolsKenny West, Assistant Director, Transportation, Baltimore County Public Schools ................
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