Committee Meetings

Committee Meetings (Dates & Summaries)

Upcoming Committee Meetings:
None scheduled 


Superintendent's Recommendation for School Start Times
Updated 4/7/15

Brenda Blackburn, division superintendent, provided her recommendation for school start times to the school board on April 7.  The presentation can be viewed online

The superintendent's recommendation is as follows:

  • Elementary start time of 8 a.m., dismissal at 2:30 p.m., bus pickup no earlier than 7 a.m.
  • Secondary start times of 8:50 a.m., dismissal at 3:35 p.m., bus pickup begins at 7:40 a.m.
  • Implementation for 2016-17 

The school board is scheduled to vote on the recommendation at the April 21 school board meeting.


January 20 Presentation to School Board
Updated 1/21/15

The School Start Time Committee made a presentation to the school board regarding their findings during their research regarding school start times. 


January 12 Meeting Summary
Updated 1/21/15

The committee met again on January 12 and reviewed the survey results, discussed its recommendation, and developed a presentation for the Board. Additional resources were added to the School Start Times website regarding the Hamilton Project, research by Finley Edwards and survey results.


 December 16 Presentation to School Board and Public Forum
Updated 12/19/14 

The School Start Time Committee made a presentation to the school board prior to the public hearing on school start times. Thirteen community members spoke at the public forum.


December 4 Meeting Summary
Updated 12/19/14

The School Start Time Committee met December 4, 2014.  The committee reviewed website information and discussed the survey process.  A brief PowerPoint presentation was developed, which committee members will present at the Public Forum on December 16.  Additionally, the committee created a comment form which will be available at the Public Forum.  The committee will convene again on January 12 at 5:30 p.m. at the School Board Office.


November 20 Meeting Summary
Updated 11/21/14

The second meeting of the School Start Time Committee was held on November 20, 2014. The committee reviewed possible school schedules and selected three options that were most feasible. Five surveys to gather parent and student input were finalized and will be administered in December. Each survey is designed for a specific audience to include elementary parents and staff, and secondary parents, staff, and students. A basic information/question sheet was developed to post online. This sheet will include questions as well as links to research. The committee decided to post a You Tube video and all the information which was reviewed during the first meeting in addition to the information sheet and research links. Procedures for the December 16th public forum were shared with the committee. The committee will meet again on December 4, 2014 and January 12, 2015. 


First Committee Meeting Summary
Updated 11/14/14

 The first meeting of the School Start Time Committee was held on November 6, 2014. Mrs. Blackburn welcomed the committee and then Lois Graham led the session. The session began with an introduction activity which demonstrated that committee members represent a cross-section of Montgomery County to include all regions and multiple stakeholders. After reviewing roles, responsibilities, the resolution on school start times, and highlights of research the committee participated in two activities. In the first activity, four possible bus schedules were provided and comments on the advantages and concerns around each were gathered. This activity included an opportunity to provide suggestions for additional schedules and earliest acceptable pick-up times. In the second activity, committee members worked in small groups to review five survey documents and provided suggestions for questions and revisions. The meeting concluded with a discussion about selection of research and best methods for providing information for the stakeholders. The committee received several research articles and links to research which they should review prior to the next meeting on November 20. Following the November 20 meeting, research will be posted on the MCPS website.

December 5th has also been reserved for a committee meeting and the Board will hear public comments on December 16th.

November 6 School Start Times Committee Presentation


First Committee Meeting Held
Updated 11/7/14

The School Start Times Committee met on November 6, 2014.  Committee members were provided with research about school start times as they relate to sleep patterns in children and discussed the pros and cons of different start time schedules.

A list of committee members is available online here

November 6 Committee Documents


Superintendent Presents Committee Proposal
Updated 10/28/14

The superintendent presented a plan for moving forward with School Start Times, including the creation of a committee and a timeline for committee activities and public input opportunities.  This information can be found online here.


Background

The Montgomery County School Board adopted a resolution on October 7, 2014, asking the administration to research school start times. The resolution specifically stated that it is the goal of the school board to have middle and high school start times after 8:30 a.m. and elementary start times after 7:40 a.m.  The timeline for this process is provided below.

  • October - November 2014: Develop a steering committee representing all stakeholder groups and review relevant research and best practices from other divisions.
  • December 2014: Solicit stakeholder feedback
  • January 2015: Prepare a recommendation for consideration for the 2015-2016 school year

As the division moves through this process, input will be gathered from staff members, students and parents.

For additional information, the materials presented to the school board are availalbe online at the links below:

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