Since last April, the Wadsworth Schools Delay Start Time Committee has been meeting to discuss pushing back school start times by 30 minutes, which would also push back the end of the school day by 30 minutes.
Newly-elected school board president, Julie Batey, heads the committee and says they are ready to present their information to the public and gather input from district residents about the proposal.
Batey cites studies done by Kent State University’s Teaching, Learning and Curriculum on adolescent sleep patterns, which shows that adolescents have a hard time falling asleep at an early hour and lack the sleep they need. (Studies done by Dr. Wendy Bedrosian).
If you have a student in the Wadsworth district, you are encouraged to attend the Delay Start Time committee meeting Wednesday (Jan. 13) at 6:30 p.m. at the James McIlvaine Performing Arts Center.
If you miss Wednesday’s meeting, it will be recorded and played back on WCTV, at a time and date not yet known. The district will post that information on their website when it becomes available. They will also have hard copies of the survey given out at the meeting for anyone needing one.
There will be 3 other public meetings on the delayed school start time proposal, all to listen to feedback and answer questions. On Jan. 20, officials and the public are invited to meet at the McIlvaine Performing Arts Center at 6:30 p.m. to focus on middle and high school students. On Jan. 26, the discussion will focus on those in K-6, with a meeting being held at OJ Work Auditorium. On Feb. 3, there will be a “catch all” meeting for K-12 at the McIlvaine Performing Arts Center.
The committee plans to present the public’s input to the school board in June, with a decision to be made by December. If the board decides to implement the delayed start time, it would take effect in the 2017-18 school year.
Visit the district’s website for additional details, including research and a schedule of meetings: http://bit.ly/1J0rL5m.
