School-start-time commission listens to pro-change supporters

Barrington resident and others testify in favor of later start times

EastBayRI.com ·

Barrington residents factored prominently in the latest discussion of changing school start times in Rhode Island, when a special legislative commission held a public hearing Monday afternoon.

Dubbed the “Special Legislative Commission to Study All Aspects Involved in Changing the Start Time of Rhode Island Public High Schools,” the group gathered in a Statehouse room on Monday to hear public testimony. Barrington resident Cynthia Rosengard was the first of three citizens to address the commission. All were mothers of teens in favor of later start times, but they all had different perspectives and suggestions for the committee.

The committee also received written testimony from six residents — all six from Barrington. Jennifer Boylan and Ms. Rosengard wrote statements in favor of later start times. Debbie Jaffe, Jason Leigh and Ann Pelletier wrote statements opposed to changing start times. And Barrington School Committee member Gina Pine stated she was neither for nor against the change, but she requested more opportunity for public testimony.

State Rep. Julie Cassimiro is chairwoman of the special commission, which was formed to make recommendations on how Rhode Island could implement later high school start times for all public high schools at, as she said, “no, or low, cost.” She said a previous bill submitted to the General Assembly to require later start times would have created an “unfunded mandate” for all districts. This commission, comprised of state legislators, school superintendents, representatives of the Rhode Island Department of Education, and others, is hoping to solve the riddle of forcing schools to start later, without forcing higher costs.

Following are excerpts from what each speaker, as well as commission members, had to say Monday:

 

Cynthia Rosengard of Barrington

Ms. Rosengard, a member of the Barrington Committee on Appropriations, told the commission she was there as a private citizen, not representing any formal bodies. A mother of two high school students, she is a clinical psychologist who said she has “dedicated my career to studying adolescents and their behaviors.”

Ms. Rosengard had suggestions for how the state could help school districts: provide small grants for local studies and implementation costs (particularly on transportation); get a statewide initiative to coordinate athletic schedules; and streamline the process for child care vendors to get approval. She said she knows of two vendors (one being the YMCA) that would offer before-school child care within the Barrington schools, but they’ve had a difficult time getting DCYF approval.

She also testified on how this topic has become a lightning rod in Barrington.

“Believe it or not, we’ve been talking about school start times for six years in Barrington.”

“As someone who started this process when my son was in fifth grade, I was stunned when there was this huge outcry in Barrington of parents and teachers and students who were vehemently against this change. I would say, in Barrington, this issue has really torn apart the fabric of the town in many ways … ”

“Instead of this being a spirited, rational debate about the change, that would have allowed for solutions to problems that are brought up, it’s resulted in students being peer pressured into signing petitions, it’s been friendships severed after many years, it’s been people hurling baseless accusations of ethical breaches, among members of our elected bodies. It’s really been a very negative force. And I think because of that, our leadership at the school department has backed away from it, pretty significantly.”

She said, “My reason for being here is, I believe there does need to be some statewide assistance for districts that want to do this, and some encouragement for all districts in Rhode Island to engage with this process.”

She thinks the General Assembly should create a deadline for all school districts to either implement the change, or submit an explanation and timeline for when they can implement the change.

 

Andrea Vento, North Kingstown

Ms. Vento is also a mother of two high school students. She suggested a very different tactic than forcing different start times — she wants to force different school bus times.

Her “dawn to dusk” busing requirement would mandate that no buses pick up students before dawn, or drop them off after dusk. “A dawn to dusk transportation requirement would actually address the real driver of student sleep deprivation … No student should be standing in the dark waiting for school buses,” she said.

She told the commission the earliest bus stop in North Kingstown is at 6 a.m., and the earliest in the state of Rhode Island is in Coventry, at 5:46 a.m. — an hour before dawn at this time of year.

The net effect of the “dawn to dusk” policy, she said, would be to combat sleep deprivation, but allow local school districts to make their own decisions about how to structure their schools. Whether to push back times, or alter bus schedules, would become a local decision rather than a state decision.

 

Dr. Amy Snyder, East Greenwich

Dr. Snyder talked from three perspectives: as a mother of teens, a practicing physician at Women & Infants Hospital, and a resident of East Greenwich, which already made the controversial decision to push back the high school start time to 8 a.m.

She read a statement that cited the numerous studies, science and medical bodies that have all suggested more sleep and later school start times for teens.

She said East Greenwich made a number of small fixes, like widening the circle of “walkers” and adding a transportation opt-out for high school students, to bring down the overall cost of busing. She said the district costs went up about $150,000 per year, and “I would suggest that $150,000 is a small cost for a public health initiative.”

 

Robert Mitchell, Cumberland

Superintendent of Schools in Cumberland, Mr. Mitchell is in favor of later start times. He said there is no evidence to support that pushing the start of school back an hour, pushes back the time they go to bed.

“They still go to bed at the same time, they’re just getting another hour of sleep. And just one hour more has a significant benefit on their health in so many ways, not just their physical health, but their mental health as well.”

Later, on the topic of sports schedules, he added: “I would not be here today were it not for my athletic experience. I would not do anything that would in any way prevent a student from being involved in athletics, because it is so beneficial. I just think that getting an hour more of sleep at night for adolescents, far outweighs any of the minor inconveniences we may experience early on in making a move like this … I feel like I have a responsibility, as a superintendent, to push for later start times … It’s the right thing to do.”

 

Phil Auger, North Kingstown

Superintendent of Schools in North Kingstown, Mr. Auger attacked another area of state law — the 4 percent cap on annual property tax increases.

“The 4 percent cap is a killer,” he said. “I consider it the worst law for education that has ever come down the pike in the State of Rhode Island.”

He said he remembers years of 6, 7, 8 and 9 percent increases, with barely an outcry, because people knew the schools needed the money. Now, he said, he has no choice every year but to cut, upwards of $2 million. “There are no pencils or paper clips that come up to $2 million. It’s bodies. It’s needed staff, and I don’t have any to cut.”

He said that over the years, busing has been an area of continual cuts. “About 10 years ago, we had 28 buses, but because of budget cuts, we’re at 21,” he said. The net effect is a lousy schedule for busing and start times. “Our high school starts at 7:15, and the last elementary school start time is at 9:35. It’s nuts.”

Though he’s a strong proponent of later start times, the 4 percent tax cap limits what he can do.

 

Robert Walsh, NEA

Mr. Walsh, representing the National Education Association R.I. (the teachers’ unions), had an interesting exchange with Ms. Rosengard. He suggested that changing start times might not necessarily change behaviors in households. Parents who need to work may still wake up their kids at the same times, resulting in the same sleep problems for teens.

Ms. Rosengard said individual households would make their own decisions but would have the flexibility to choose differently than they do now.

Mr. Walsh responded, “Of course, there’s a poverty factor to this, those who can afford to make other arrangements, and those who can’t. We don’t want to feed another problem accidentally.”

Ms. Rosengaard responded, “The issue we find is that, because we have the early start times, lots of people will drive their kids to school, and even people who are in opposition to this in Barrington, will drive their kids to school so they can get extra sleep. I think if we shifted the time, more kids would take the bus.”

You can watch the full special commission hearing here.