Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting: December 18, 2018
On Tuesday, December 18, 2018, Superintendent Hackett provided in her Superintendent’s Report, several recommendations that administration will need to address for Lexington Later Start, 2020.
Superintendent’s Recommendations
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – December 4, 2018
On Tuesday, December 4, 2018, Superintendent Hackett provided reflections and recommendations to the School Committee.
Superintendent’s Reflections and Recommendation
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – November 20, 2018
On Tuesday, November 20, 2018, Superintendent Hackett presented to School Committee Option #12: A New Approach
November 20, 2018, School Committee Presentation
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – October 30, 2018
On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, Transportation Consultant, Mr. Richard Labrie presented to School Committee results from the School Transportation Efficiency Study and Later High School Start Time Analysis.
Communication Letter from Superintendent
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – August 28, 2018
In August 2018, the School Committee adopted a resolution acknowledging the physical, social and emotional benefits of a later start for high school-aged students, as well as the School Committee’s desire to maintain the current start and end times for elementary and middle school students.
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – June 19, 2018
On Tuesday, June 19, 2018, the school administration provided responses and a short presentation to the committee in response to the discussion had at the June 12, 2018 School Committtee meeting that can be found below:
June 19, 2018, School Committee Meeting Presentation
At this meeting, it was decided that this topic would be revisited in the meetings at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year to determine if changes would be implemented in 2019-20, if the implementation would be delayed, or if any changes would be implemented in coming school years.
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – June 12, 2018
On Tuesday, June 12, 2018, the school committee conducted a meeting as a follow-up to discussion and feedback shared at the May 22, 2018 Meeting. The administration provided responses and a short presentation to the committee that can be found below:
June 12, 2018, School Committee Meeting Presentation
Lexington Public Schools – Public Hearing and School Committee Meeting – May 22, 2018
On Tuesday, May 22, 2018, the school committee conducted a public hearing to gather feedback from the public on the three preferred alternatives discussed at prior School Committee meetings. The presentation and recording of this meeting can be found below:
May 22, 2018, Public Hearing Presentation
May 22, 2018, Public Hearing Recording
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – May 8, 2018
On Tuesday, May 8, 2018, school administration made a follow-up presentation to the School Committee due to a request that additional options raised at the April 24th meeting be explored by the Task Force. The Task Force and Superintendent put forward three preferred alternatives that will move forward in the process. The next meeting, on May 22, 2018 will include the public hearing at 6:00p.m. to discuss these three options plus another discussion on school start time options. If you were unable to attend or would like to review this presentation again, it can be found below:
May 8, 2018, School Committee Meeting Presentation
Notice of Public Hearing – May 22, 2018
The Lexington School Committee is holding a public hearing on May 22, 2018 at 6:00p.m. in Battin Hall at Cary Memorial Hall. Please find below and link to the press release:
May 22, 2018, Public Hearing Press Release
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – April 24, 2018
On Tuesday, April 24, 2018, school administration made a follow-up presentation to the School Committee based on inital questions. The next meeting, on May 8, 2018 will include another discussion on school start time options. If you were unable to attend or would like to review this presentation again, it can be found below:
April 24, 2018, School Committee Meeting Presentation
Lexington Public Schools – School Committee Meeting – April 11, 2018
On Wednesday, April 11, 2018, school administration presented the work of the School Start Times Task Force to date. This was the first time that school start time options were presented to the general public. In addition to options, a timeline for upcoming School Committee and community discussions was outlined. This includes a Public Hearing planned for May 22, 2018. If you were unable to attend or would like to review this presentation again, it can be found below:
April 11, 2018, School Committee Meeting Presentation
Lexington Public Schools – Monday Staff Meeting – March 5, 2018
On Monday, March 5, 2018, Dr. Judith Owens provided two presentations to staff on the science behind later school start times. If you were unable to attend or would like to review these presentations again, they can be found below:
High School and Middle School Staff Presentation
Elementary School Staff Presentation
Lexington School Committee Updates and Presentations
Information that has been shared with the Lexington School Committee at various meetings throughout the process can be found here:
September 19, 2017, School Committee Meeting Presentation
November 7, 2017, School Committee Meeting Presentation
December 5, 2017, School Committee Meeting Presentation
Current Status of Middlesex League School Start Times
A number of districts in Massachusetts, particularly in the Middlesex League, are discussing and changing school start times. A current listing of information we have pertaining to the Middlesex League can be seen here.
Lexington’s Community Forum on School Start Times
On November 15, 2017, Lexington hosted a Community Forum at Battin Hall in collaboration with Dr. Judith Owens. The full presentation shared that evening can be found here:
Dr. Judith Owens School Start Times PowerPoint Presentation
Lexington to host Judith Owens at Community Forum
Lexington Public Schools will be hosting a community forum on November 15th at 7:00pm in Battin Hall. The School Start Times Task Force and Lexington Public Schools Administration will host Judith Owens at a community forum engaging in a discussion on school start times. Judith Owens is a sleep expert and Director of the Center for Pediatric Sleep Disorders at Boston Children’s Hospital and an Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. At this community forum, Dr. Owens will engage the community in a discussion around the myths and misconceptions surrounding school start times and sleep patterns for students.
School Start Times Feedback
Lexington Public Schools administration is engaging the community this fall in many ways to gather feedback and have a discussion surrounding school start times. This will include directed surveys of impacted stakeholders, a community forum in November, and open/on-going feedback through Lexington Listens. Please be sure to actively participate in this process so that your view and feedback can be understood.
Lexington’s School Start Times Task Force
In the spring of 2017, the Superintendent formed a School Start Times Task Force. This Task Force included both internal and external stakeholders throughout the District and community. This group was tasked with the following goal:
Research, identify priorities, and evaluate all considerations to determine if a recommendation should be made to the Superintendent to consider changes to start/end times at the high school, middle school, and/or elementary school levels.
Research surrounding school start times continues to be published. While some of this research conflicts, there is a large amount of research indicating that a later high school start time would be beneficial to students social/emothional wellness and overall performance in school. As discussed below, the Middlesex League of Superintendents signed a letter pledging to examine start times at the high school between 8:00a-8:30a. As a result, Lexington is examining start times at all levels to determine if adjustments may be recommended at any of those levels.
News Articles, Research & Helpful Information
Morningness-eveningness in a large sample of German adolescents and adults – November 2016
Later Start, Longer Sleep: Implications ofMiddle School Start Times – January 2018
WGBH – What Earlier School Start Times Mean for Young Brains – February 1, 2018
Boston Public Schools – School Start Times Work – November 2017
Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Assocation (MIAA) State on Start Times – December 2016
PBS – Frontline – Inside the Teenage Brain
New York Times – The Economic Case for Letting Teenagers Sleep a Little Later – September 13, 2017
Start School Later – Healthy Hours Website
Start School Later – Myths and Misconceptions Website
Moveon.org Petition – Start Massachusetts Middle and High Schools After 8:30 AM
CBS Boston – Concord-Carlisle High School Switches To Later Start Time – September 7, 2017
WBUR – Later School Start Times Spark Debate In California – August 14, 2017
MassLive – Petition calls for delayed start times at Massachusetts schools – May 30, 2017
New York Times Article – The Science of Adolescent Sleep – May 22, 2017
Youtube – Why School Should Start Later For Teens – TED Talk – November 2016
USA Today – Later starts disrupt families: Opposing view – August 25, 2016
Boston Globe – Students find more awareness with later starts – May 10, 2016
USA Today Article – High schools, wake up to later start times: Our view – August 27, 2014
Background
In March 2016, Superintendents belonging to the Middlesex League of Superintendents released a joint statement regarding their intention to look at school start times for high school students. There is a great deal of research on the topic of school start times. However, with any changes to school start times, there are a number of logistical and philosophical conversations that need to take place throughout the community collectively. These conversations will start at the end of the 2016-2017 school year and into the 2017-2018 school year to determine if any changes will be implemented at Lexington Public Schools.
In order to complete this work, a School Start Times Task Force was created to review research conducted, discuss logistical considerations throughout the district, gather feedback from community stakeholders to determine if a change in school start times should be recommended to the School Committee. The work of this Task Force includes evaluating start times for schools at all levels, not just the high school level.
