Fairfax County Public Schools is exploring ways it can have middle schools start later in the morning without significant changes to other schedules or its budget.
Virginia’s largest school division first said it was considering making the change last year. It’s now paying consulting firm Prismatic Services, Inc. to create options and a plan for possible implementation.
Currently, all middle schools in the district start at 7:30 a.m. Now, the county wants to have them start at or after 8 a.m.
Prismatic Services, led by president Tatia Prieto, will use the next 10 months to establish a recommendation for the school board, which is expected to be presented in January. A possible change to middle school start times could come as soon as the 2025-26 school year.
“The science and data shows that the increase in sleep for middle school students results in improved health — physical and mental — and improved academic performance,” said Andy Mueck, the school system’s chief operating officer. “That’s the strongest reason to be looking at this.”
Fairfax County shifted high school start times to 8 a.m. or later starting in the 2015-16 academic year. After that change, middle school start times moved up to 7:30 a.m.
The consulting firm is being tasked with creating an action plan, which will include putting together a draft bell schedule, a community engagement plan and an alternatives analysis, according to school board documents.
Key elements of any recommendations will include how, if at all, they impact the county’s budget, and whether middle school start times can be changed without affecting those for elementary and high schools.
“We have documented research that shows things like later school start time can be equivalent to an additional couple months of education,” Prieto said.
However, Prieto said, “transportation has been the barrier to making the change. It doesn’t sound like, from looking at the published reports, that there was any lack of desire to do what is best for students.”
A bus driver shortage is a potential barrier to implementing certain changes, Prieto said, characterizing that as a “national issue, and not one that’s likely to go away soon.”
“I’ve checked with your executive director, there are no additional 100 buses in the backlog with 100 drivers ready to go to make it cost neutral,” Prieto said.
School Board member Mateo Dunne asked about the impact a start time change could have on extracurricular activities, but Prieto said that in nearby Anne Arundel Public Schools in Maryland, “all of their middle schools start at 9:15 a.m. They shifted their sports program, which is much more extensive than what you currently have, to the after hours and are not experiencing any problems.”
The firm is expected to hold a series of public information sessions this spring and in the fall.
Board member Melanie Meren previously told WTOP that possible changes could also make it safer for students at bus stops in the morning.
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