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To FCPS: My son suffered through 6 years of misery when he started middle school in the FCPS system in the early 2000's. The too early start times left him sleep deprived, which resulted in him dripping out of his after school activities due to fatigue. School work took him twice as long, so he was constantly stressed by the pressure to finish on time. His misery affected the whole family, including in reduced family activities.
While high school start times have been corrected to some degree to coincide more with the proven adolescent sleep shift to a later biorhythm, middle school start times remain the same. Please correct this injustice to our children and their families. Thank you.
Lisa supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolMy child will still be 10 in 6th grade when she has to walk 1/2 mile to the bus stop to get her 6:23 bus to her middle school school which is 1.5 miles away by car. This craziness is for a 7:30 am start. Her current bus stop is .2 miles away at 8:15 for an 8:35 start. (And our skinny 200 year old street has no sidewalks or shoulders.)
Carolyn supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolMy MS student gets on the bus at 0650 for a LBSS 0800 start time. A few years ago FCPS claimed students spend less than 30 minutes commute time. This obviously does not apply to us or the other families in our area. A later start and better bus schedule would be beneficial. Even better, the choice to go to the MS/HS 10 minutes from us.
Jennifer supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolI am a middle schooler in FCPS. Every morning, I wake up at 6 am, eat breakfast, change, brush my teeth, do my hair, shove my stuff into my bag, and leave. First of all, the bag is insanely heavy. I'm already a zombie and it slows me down even more. Second of all. I have no free time in the morning. Want to pet your adorable cat that's lying on your bed, purring? Sorry, you can't- because if you do, you'll be late to school. Same with books. Or video games. or anything fun. School ends at 2:15, but I don't come home until 4:30. I have musical rehearsal, clubs, and meetings with my teachers for retakes or to work on my assignments. When I come home, I'm so pooped I just flop down on the couch and sit there, sometimes with a book and/or a cat. Then we have dinner, and we go to bed. But I want to read. Just one chapter- because I didn't get to this morning! But then I read 2, then 3, then 4... And it's a hour later, and I'm instantly trying to fall asleep, knowing how tired I'll be in the morning. on the weekends I can get more sleep, but two days of sleeping in doesn't help 5 days of sleep deprivation. I get so exhausted that my homework takes 5-10 times longer to do, and in school my assignments aren't my best work. it would be better for everyone- teachers, parents, kids - to have a later start time. I meet kids who are so tried they mess up simple times tables in math class. Please fix this mess. Thank you.
Camille supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolMy oldest was the beneficiary of the change in high school start times when he started 10th grade. The middle schoolers are catching the bus in our neighborhood at 6:25 - an HOUR before my youngest catches the HS bus. We need to get this corrected now so we don’t have an entire generation of kids who are exhausted at school.
Suzie supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolAs a parent of a rising 7th grade middle school student, I support moving ahead with changing the middle school start times for the upcoming school year. Please consider what is in the best interests of the children developmentally. We’ve heard from the pediatricians and they agree that adolescents need later school start times for their brain development and optimal school performance. Please do not delay this important change.
Jennifer supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolMy sister has to wake up at 6am to get to school on time and she is like a zombie in the afternoons. She has no time to do anything fun before school. The later start time would really help her.
Nolan supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolAs a seventh grader, it is very difficult to get the recommended amount of sleep every day. Doctors say that teens need 8-10 hours of sleep. Assuming that a student wakes up at 6:00, this student would have to go to bed at 8:00 to get a full ten hours. A lot of students have extracurriculars that make that impossible. Personally, I'm in a youth orchestra that rehearses from 7 pm to 9 pm, and it takes 30 minutes to get there. That means that if I go to sleep as soon as I get home, I still don't get ten hours. That's not the only problem, either. Studies by the NIH (National Institute of Health) found that teens' circadian rhythms are delayed by roughly two hours when they go through puberty. That means that if a child had been going to bed at 9:00, after puberty they will now want to go to bed at 11:00. All these factors mean that it is nearly impossible for a child in middle school to get anywhere near enough sleep.
Heidi supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolOur 11 year old currently wakes up at 5:15am for a 6:30am bus pick up. No one should have to be out that early in the dark, and it discourages her from doing after school activities. Please consider starting middle school at least an hour later! No adult wants to start their day that early we shouldn't make our children be out in the dark and cold. Plus they are out too early in the afternoon.
Samantha supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolLater middle school start times were promised 10 years ago, and then 7 years ago, and nothing has been done. Middle school students are teenagers, too. Follow the science and give them the best environment in which to learn.
Katherine supported: FCPS School Board: Proceed Now with Healthy School Start Times in Middle SchoolYou’re not alone — a community of supporters is ready to back you.
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