• For parents of younger (specifically elementary) kids, the transportation when having to walk to school is a big safety concern. Children in 1st through 5th grade are required to walk to school if living within 0.25 miles of it. In the RCPS videos we watch, Superintendent White is always saying "safety is first priority" - We would like to bring it to attention that 4th grader Brayden Dehaven was hit and killed while walking to an elementary school not far from his house. Now think of a 1st grader who is shorter in height walking a longer distance.
• How are teachers going to get their kids from school, get groceries, make dinner, get to doctors appointments exactly when they need them, while having to stay at school extremely late. are teachers going to get adult-ing days? They can't just use their sick days for daily tasks.
• We are trying to fix our buses and get people to school on time so we moved around school times and have new buses but we are already anticipating them to cause problems. Why are we molding our schedule around something that is just going to make it change more? These new Zum buses have been said to be on average 40 minutes late, in addition their one star ratings and written reviews are concerning to our safety with quotes from parents such as "This was a dangerous ride with him slamming on his breaks and kids smashing into seats." with "him" being the bus driver. Parents have also gotten messages on their phone from Zum stating "Your Zumer is unable to accomodate your pick up for the listed ride at 2:50 due to unforseen circumstances." in other words telling the parent that the Zum bus would not be picking up the kid which is the Zumer's exact job and what they are paid to do.
• We already struggle with getting the middle school students to high school practices on time with our 9-3:45 schedule. A 9:30-4:15 schedule will keep them from participating in JV sports completely. Not to mention teachers that offer up their free time to help with extracurricular activities will be getting home extremely late (as well will the students who attend those extracurricular activities) and teachers and students who have activities that are not school related will have trouble getting to them at reasonable times.
• Students won't have time for activities after school such as sports, clubs, spending times with friends and family, etc. The lack of these can negatively effect students' mental, emotional and physical health. Vitamin D is a major factor in alleviating symptoms of depression and anxiety. The later we get out of school, the less time we have in the sun. In the Winter students will be getting home at dark when the sun has set which is a safety hazard for those walking home from school and from their bus stops.
• From the students point of view: The time in which middle school students will be getting home is unacceptable. Delaying the school schedule will prevent students from having a life outside of school. It also causes transportation problems for the parents, putting more stress on them. Additionally during the winter months middle school bus riders will be getting dropped off and will be walking home in the dark. We already have trouble making ends meet with the current 9-3:45 school times. I typically get home at 4:15 (30 minutes after school lets out). With the new school ending time of 4:15 I will be getting home around 4:45 and since we are already anticipating there to be problems with the buses next year, I also might get home around or even after 5 o'clock. My sports practice starts at 4:15 meaning I will be very late to it and after getting home from my practice I will not have enough time or energy (because of how long and draining the school day will feel because of what time it goes to) to shower, have dinner, complete work from all 7 of my classes, and prepare for tomorrow. Eat, school, sleep, repeat. You tell me if that sounds like enjoying my youth.
• From the teachers point of view: The new school times will interfere with almost anything and everything outside of or after school. These times will effect some children's' careers as some of them will be pursuing sports and they will not be able to make it to their sport on time. Along with how busy people's daily lives are already, how will kids manage everything and get all their homework done. If education is our main goal, kids should be given and adequate amount of time and time of day to do their homework. Children get sick often and will need doctor checkups. How will we get our kids to doctor visits without leaving work early? We can't leave our job every time something needs to happen at home. Speaking of kids, we have families! Family time is important for us and our kids, family time is also important for the mental health of us and our kids. Keeping the buses and times that we currently have would also have saved money. We have things to do, places to be, and families to care for.
• Neurodivergent student's point of view: The school's time change will severely effect the schedule of neurodivergents as it takes a lot of time and effort to make a daily schedule that we can actually stick to. When I'm waking up, when I'm going to bed, when I eat, when I take breaks, when I go outside, and many other parts of my schedule are things that it has taken a lot of work to adapt to. Pushing my sleep schedule later will simply not work. I physically cannot sleep in past a certain time so I will be going to bed later and waking up at the same time leaving me seriously sleep deprived. When I'm tired I won't be able to focus or function. Most kids take their meds as soon as they wake up. By 7th period medications will have fully worn off and kids will not be able to focus, sit still, stay organized, or keep to themselves when needed. This will seriously be effecting our and other student's educations.

We are aware the board has already signed a contract meaning we will be with this new bus system for a certain time but that doesn't mean we can't fix the new school times. One suggestion we have is actually look at how many students are on each bus. Have the bus drivers tally them if that is what's needed. So many buses aren't even have way full so, we could save a lot of room and time that isn't being used to benefit us. If we take two buses that are only half way full we can get one bus to drive both routes and then we will have extra buses to get to other schools and at an earlier time. Another suggestion we have is to make sure all schools have a representative when plans that will effect the schools are being made. We do not know who the people of the Transportation Workgroup are or what their jobs are and we have been looking for that information. We would like to know that the new transportation methods and school times are being looked at from all perspectives because with the new middle school times, it does not feel that way. 

Parents, gaurdians, students, siblings, families, teachers, staff, coaches, and many more, your are all being effected by this! Now is the time to stand up for the safety, health, and education of your community of Roanoke city students.