Woodland looks at changing start times for students
For Woodland District 50 Board of Education, the discussion on changing school schedules started with a question: Are we doing the best as a district, based on the current educational research and best practice, to create an optimal environment for student learning?
Community members, staff and students who met in November 2017 to develop a Strategic Plan understood that researching school start times is an essential initiative for student well-being. The plan, approved by the board on Feb. 22 specifically includes researching new educational trends - including school start times - under a goal of "creating learning opportunities to address the physical, mental, emotional and social needs of the whole child."
During a March 8 special board of education meeting, the Woodland administration, as requested by the board, shared the research that overwhelmingly supports later start times (after 8:30 a.m.) for adolescents.
The advantages, according to the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Pediatrics, is that a restful sleep for a developing adolescent child depends not only on the number of hours of sleep, but also when that sleep time begins at night and ends in the morning. Some child experts also believe younger children are more alert earlier in the day than adolescents.
"The board of education began discussing the topic of changing the bell schedule, not because it is easy, but because our community members have put their trust in us to do what's right for our children," Woodland Board of Education President Dr. Carla Little said.
The research supported the board of education's decision on March 22 to direct the administration to design and implement a plan to change start times, beginning with the 2019-20 school year. Changing the school day for students goes hand-in-hand with transportation, and when school is in session, Woodland moves more than 5,000 students by bus twice a day.
From September through November, multiple drafts of transportation schedules were deliberated in various administrative meetings before development of the schedule released this week. The aim was to keep the plan cost neutral and keep familiar bus drivers in place, while giving students the opportunity to achieve optimal learning time during the school day.
The traffic patterns and layout of each school property, as well as how quickly students get on and off buses, were among considerations for the transportation plan.
Not only does the new schedule achieve those goals, but it also makes the first bus pickup, currently at 6:20 a.m., no earlier than 7 a.m. Instead of a schedule with oldest to youngest, the 2019-20 Revised Start Times Schedule has Woodland Elementary classes starting first, followed by Woodland Primary, Woodland Middle and Woodland Intermediate.
Primary and Elementary routes are combined to avoid neighborhood redundancy or siblings riding separate buses.
On Sept. 22, the board amended its March 22 resolve to include the need for community engagement. An open forum was held Oct. 29 to educate the public about the benefits of changing the schedule and provide a voice for those in attendance.
An implementation survey, tentatively scheduled to go out in January, will be used to gather feedback on how to help prepare for the change.
Following the Oct. 29 community forum, the governing board met on Nov. 15 and discussed moving forward with the changes in the start times schedule, starting in the fall of the 2019-20 school year.
On Dec. 20, the board will meet at the Woodland Educational Center, 1105 N. Hunt Club Road, Gurnee. Among items on the agenda is action on the Revised 2019-20 School Start Times schedule. That action includes the new schedule taking effect at the start of the 2019-20 school year. The meeting will begin with a 6 p.m. closed session, followed by the open session starting at 7 p.m.
For more information about the research, presentations, and the schedule for 2019-20, go to www.dist50.net/starttimes.