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Mason District Community,
I have received many communications sharing concerns regarding matters related to School Start Times. Please see the information below which answers many of the questions that have been raised to me. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions not addressed here.
You can reach me by email at rjanderson@fcps.edu. If you are interested in scheduling a phone call, please reach out to my assistant, Cristy Coffey, at cmcoffey@fcps.edu to arrange a time.
School Start Times
Background
It’s important to note that in 2014, the School Board voted to change high school start times to 8:00 am or later. The revised start time for high schools was based on recommendations from the National Children’s Medical Center which found that high school classes beginning at 7:20 am could negatively affect student health.
Unfortunately, limited resources resulted in moving the middle school start time to 7:30 am. At the time, the School Board indicated the need to address the middle school start times in the out years.
Since then, research around sleep science grew to include findings that the adolescent circadian rhythm differs from that of adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations have supported not starting secondary school until 8:30 am or later. In 2020, the School Board began the second part of the effort to review the middle school start times – but ultimately delayed those discussions due to the pressing matters stemming from the Covid pandemic.
In late 2023, Prismatic Services was awarded the contract to develop an action plan to realize the goal of starting middle schools at 8:00 am or later. Prismatic consultants and FCPS staff held several community sessions throughout the division to inform the public of the goals and most importantly to gather feedback. The meetings were held in 2024 at the dates and locations below.
April 29 at Glasgow Middle School
May 6 at Whitman Middle School
May 13 Virtual Session
May 20 at Hughes Middle School
May 22 at Frost Middle School
Information and input gathered was used by Prismatic Services to develop several start time options which were presented to the School Board and the public during the School Board Work Session on December 3, 2024. I also shared these updates in my January 17, 2025 newsletter.
During the second School Board Work Session on Middle School Start Times on February 18, 2025, Mr. Mueck, the Chief Operating Officer, suggested that a pilot program in a small number of schools would be beneficial before rolling out a plan division-wide.
My Position
A motion for the proposed pilot was approved by the School Board on March 27, 2025 which requests the Superintendent to “provide to the Board by April 10, 2025, a cost-neutral plan to implement a pilot of later start times in as many of the Mason District middle schools (Glasgow, Holmes, Poe) as possible for implementation in the 2025-26 school year. The plan should minimize start time changes for the pyramid high schools.”
I presented the motion for the pilot for this upcoming year due to the significant advocacy received from the Mason District community regarding the desire to address middle school start times sooner rather than later. Additionally, as the only district in the division with three grades attending middle school, our students are exposed to the unhealthy start times for a longer period.
During this board meeting, I also made it clear that elementary start times should NOT be moved any later than their current start times. Starting school (at any level) close to or beyond 10:00 am is logistically unfeasible. Furthermore, elementary school aged students typically awake and are ready for learning much earlier. It is my advocacy for the division to consider starting elementary schools earlier.
During the March meeting, the Board also approved another motion “to direct the superintendent to develop a plan, including robust community engagement and consideration of varied student transportation needs, for implementing healthy school start times in conjunction with the holistic boundary review process,” which signals to the community that the Board is committed to providing middle schoolers all across Fairfax County with an appropriate start time to be able to maximize their learning in schools.
Survey
There have also been many questions regarding the FCPS newsletter sent on March 26, 2025 which indicated that a School Start Times survey would be emailed to the community on April 1. Unfortunately, the language describing the intended recipients of the survey was unclear.
The survey link will be made available to the following groups:
- All FCPS staff
- All parents/caregivers
- Students in grades 5-12
Upcoming School Board Meetings
Regular School Board Meetings (Luther Jackson Middle School)
- April 10, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
- April 24, 2025 at 7:00 p.m.
Work Sessions (Gatehouse Administration Center)
- April 8, 2025 at 10:30 a.m.
- April 22, 2025 at 5:00 p.m. (tentative)
All meetings will be broadcast live on Channel 99 (Verizon channel 11) and on the FCPS website. The meetings are recorded for future viewing and posted to the FCPS School Board YouTube channel.
Would you like to share your ideas and concerns with the School Board and staff? Register HERE to speak at a regular meeting or public hearing.
The views contained within this newsletter reflect the views of the individual school board member who is the publisher of this newsletter and may not reflect the views of the Fairfax County School Board.
© Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County, Virginia
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