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The Dunne Dispatch (School Start Times Edition) - November 9, 2026
Friends and Neighbors,
FCPS is considering potential changes to start times for elementary, middle, and high schools, which would be implemented next year (SY 2027-28). The proposed changes would have significant impacts on families and staff, including childcare arrangements, commuting timeframes, work schedules, and athletics and extracurricular activities.
The proposed changes will be presented during a School Board Work Session tomorrow (Tuesday, November 10), but you can access the presentation here. (If you are interested, you can watch the Work Session on YouTube or attend in person at 12:30 PM in Room 1600, Gatehouse Administration Center, 8115 Gatehouse Rd, Falls Church).
Option 1A would start elementary school at 7:30 AM or 8:00 AM, middle school at 9:20 AM, high school and secondary school at 8:40 AM. This option costs $1.6 million.
I have confirmed with FCPS that they could accommodate two variations of Option 1 at no additional cost beyond $1.6 million:
Option 1B would shift these times by 10 minutes: elementary school at 7:40 AM or 8:10 AM, middle school at 9:30 AM, high school and secondary school at 8:50 AM.
Option 1C would shift these times by 20 minutes: elementary school at 7:50 AM or 8:20 AM, middle school at 9:40 AM, high school and secondary school at 9:00 AM.
Option 2 would start elementary school between 9:00 AM and 9:50 AM, middle school at 8:00 AM, high school at 8:40 AM, and secondary school at 8:30 AM. This option would be cost-neutral.
At this time, FCPS has not announced any plans for community engagement before the School Board is scheduled to vote on December 17th, which I believe is irresponsible and unacceptable. Accordingly, I would like to ask you to complete my survey for Mount Vernon District families. (Please note that other School Board Members have distributed surveys for their constituents, but I am asking for you to complete my survey, which is specific to the Mount Vernon District.)
The Medical Consensus
For many years, leading medical authorities—including the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Academy of Sleep Medicine—have recommended that middle schools and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 AM
According to medical experts, adolescents experience a biological shift in their sleep cycle (a delay in melatonin release) that makes falling asleep before 11:00 PM difficult. Chronic sleep loss in adolescents correlates with higher rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, automotive accidents, and lower academic performance. By contrast, pediatric sleep research shows that elementary-aged children are biologically attuned to earlier wake and sleep cycles.
Historic School Board Discussions
FCPS has grappled with school start times for over 20 years.
Historically, FCPS high schools started at 7:20 AM, middle schools started at 7:30 AM or 8:00 AM, and elementary schools started between 8:00 AM and 9:20 AM.
In 2014, following a decade of grassroots parent advocacy and a comprehensive study by Children’s National Medical Center, the School Board voted to change high school start times from 7:20 AM to 8:00 AM to 8:10 AM, dismissing around 2:45 PM to 2:55 PM.
Shifting high schools required moving another cohort earlier to avoid purchasing hundreds of new buses. As a result, the School Board moved middle schools to start as early as 7:30 AM, dismissing at 2:15 PM. Meanwhile, elementary schools continued to start as late as 9:20 AM, dismissing at 4:05 PM.
In recent years, FCPS commissioned further studies to evaluate shifting middle schools to be consistent with medical recommendations, but the resulting analysis and options were found to be lacking.
Next Steps
I have a number of concerns with the proposed changes.
First, shifting elementary schools earlier means elementary students walking to neighborhood bus stops in predawn darkness during late autumn and winter.
Second, many families rely on older middle and high school siblings to care for younger elementary children after school. Inverting or synchronizing dismissals could break that support structure, forcing parents to incur steep childcare costs or leave children unsupervised.
Third, ending middle schools and high schools later could compress athletic practice times, forcing student-athletes to miss academic classes for travel and/or reducing availability for after-school jobs.
I want to hear from you. Please share your perspective and any operational concerns your family faces by completing my survey. You can also email my office at MountVernon@fcps.edu. Your input ensures our School Board decisions reflect common sense, transparency, and your priorities.
Very Respectfully,
 Mateo Dunne, Mount Vernon District Representative
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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