We now have a year of experience with these new bell times, and it is clear that our high school students are suffering. Students are arriving in class chronically late, and clearly sleep deprived. First-period attendance is now worse and teachers are noticing the difference in their classes.

There are safety issues for the kids who have to get up to get the bus in the dark, particularly for the kids who have to take the HSR as opposed to the school buses.  Also, there are kids who are childminders for their younger siblings; it is challenging for them and it would be easier if the younger kids were able to be at school first.

Now is the time to address this issue and correct the bell times for September 2023!

Background: Behind closed doors the HWDSB and the HWCDSB have supposedly “fixed” the school bus shortage problem without any consideration for what’s best for our kids and their families.  The result is high school students starting school as early as 8:00am and some elementary school students starting as late as 9:15 am. All the research about adolescents and sleep says this is bad for our kids. We weren’t asked if we agreed to rousing teenagers from desperately needed sleep at 6:30 in the morning for that 8:00 am bell. Elementary school parents weren’t consulted about potentially paying for extra before-school childcare to accommodate this secret deal. We’ve all been through enough. Parents, teachers and our kids should have a say. Less sleep and more childcare costs make life harder for us all. We want a say. Start by signing this petition and let's stand up for our children’s quality of education.