Monday, February 6, 2012
Students, parents and administrators in the Parkway school district are grappling with early class start times and their effect on academic performance.
Part one of this report looked at the Parkway School District switching to an earlier start time. Some students and parents believe start times before 8 a.m. are too early. Parkway officials note the school day is pinched on both ends by bus schedules, class time, after-school activities, homework and family time. For Parkway students like Zack Becker, the school day starts early. The Parkway North High School sophomore is in marching band. During band season, the group met at 6:30 a.m. for practice, meaning Becker had to get up at 5:45 a.m. to get to school. “I’m averaging six hours of sleep a night,” he said. Fatigue affected Becker’s grades, which dropped from a 4.0 as a freshman to a 3.4 in his first semester. Dr. John Spivey, a …
38.69181
-90.46841
Parkway North High School
12860 Fee Fee Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/the-squeeze-on-zs-part-2-teens-struggle-with-sleep-time-4015ac12
1820150
/locations/6322170
38.66681
-90.501371
Parkway School District Administrative Center
455 N Woods Mill Rd, Chesterfield, MO
/articles/the-squeeze-on-zs-part-2-teens-struggle-with-sleep-time-4015ac12
844215
/locations/6322171
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Parkway moved high school start times back to 7:35 a.m. Some students and sleep researchers say it's too early, but Parkway officials say the school day length puts them in a time crunch, too.
When Zack Becker fell asleep near the end of his third hour algebra and trigonometry class, it took the teacher and other students five minutes to wake him up. This year, the Parkway School District moved high school start times back from 8 a.m. last year to 7:35 a.m., subtracting precious minutes of slumber from students’ sleep schedules. The move was recommended by the Project Parkway task force, which included parents and staff. The change move the middle school start time from 7:25 a.m.--even earlier than the current high school schedule--to 8:15 a.m. Becker, a sophomore at Parkway North High School, is in the marching band, which meets before school. During band season, the group met at 6:30 a.m. for practice, meaning Becker had to …
38.69181
-90.46841
Parkway North High School
12860 Fee Fee Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/the-squeeze-on-zs-parkway-students-fatigued-by-early-start-times
1820150
/locations/6314934
38.66681
-90.501371
Parkway School District Administrative Center
455 N Woods Mill Rd, Chesterfield, MO
/articles/the-squeeze-on-zs-parkway-students-fatigued-by-early-start-times
844215
/locations/6314935
Thursday, September 22, 2011
The Parkway Board of Education voted to change the start and end times for all schools effective Oct. 17.
Despite concerns voiced by parents and students Wednesday night, the Parkway Board of Education voted to change the start and end times for all schools mid-year. It was a vote that upset parents with many of them walking out unhappy with the decision. "I'm disappointed with the fact that two of the people who initially voted to table this, just turned around and voted for it," said Parkway parent Chris Carlson. "I understand where they're coming from, but if they had to do something tonight, I would have rather they reverted back to last year's schedule. At least parents and students are familiar with that, now we don't even know what our bus schedule will be." "That is disappointing because it was already decided," said parent Lisa …
38.66681
-90.501371
Parkway School District Administrative Center
455 N Woods Mill Rd, Chesterfield, MO
/articles/parkway-startend-times-changing-in-october-a02a5079
844215
/locations/5422895
38.69181
-90.46841
Parkway North High School
12860 Fee Fee Rd, Saint Louis, MO
/articles/parkway-startend-times-changing-in-october-a02a5079
1820150
/locations/5422896
38.71015
-90.45555
McKelvey Elementary School
1751 McKelvey Rd, Maryland Heights, MO
/articles/parkway-startend-times-changing-in-october-a02a5079
841719
/locations/5422897
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Middle schools will start about an hour later, and elementary school days will be 20 minutes longer next school year.
Parkway middle school students could get another hour of sleep next year. The Parkway School Board approved changes to school start and end times and lengthened elementary school days Wednesday night. Middle school start times will be pushed back about an hour, to 8:15 a.m. Elementary school days will be about 20 minutes longer, bringing the length of the school day for all Parkway students to 6 hours and 55 minutes. The proposal came from a task force of Project Parkway, a multiyear, districtwide strategic planning effort that combines a variety of stakeholders. The proposal, which has been through numerous drafts, had been in the works for about two years, Desi Kirchofer, assistant superintendent for secondary schools, told the board …
38.667131
-90.501312
Parkway Central Middle School
471 N Woods Mill Rd, Chesterfield, MO
The Parkway School Board meets here.
/articles/parkway-board-approves-changes-to-school-start-and-end-times
843268
/locations/3568162
Bonnie Campbell
10:35 am on Thursday, February 9, 2012
I agree Heather - great series. (Maybe adults should apply this to their own lives also!) I would also like to suggest that while bus schedules are important, it is VERY important to remember that a large percentage of these high school students are driving themselves to schools - and they are new, inexperienced drivers. Also, as I read, I considered the 'school activities' and how much weight … more ›