On Tuesday, March 29th, 2022, Cherry Hill held a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the proposals put forth by the School Start Time Steering Committee. The committee, formed in September 2021, is ​​composed of administrators, teachers, parents, and high school students across the district, as well as other representatives needed to make later start times a reality (such as Mr. Beirao, the Athletics Director). The committee came up with four proposals which were presented to the public during the March 29th town hall meeting. Many community members voiced their opinion on these proposals.

When creating the proposals, the committee had “Non-Negotiables” to adhere to. These included the instructional day remaining consistent, a minimum of 30 minutes between start and end times for all levels in order to accommodate for transportation, consistency of contractual agreements, and a minimal change of start and end times for elementary and middle school start times. This idea of not changing the middle school start and end times was largely based on a survey sent out to parents of children in middle and/or elementary schools, and the majority of parents indicated that they were very satisfied with the school start and end times for both middle and elementary school. The committee also considered recommendations from The American Academy of Pediatrics, which states that school start times should be moved for high school and middle school to no earlier than 8:30 am. In addition, there is a current bill that has been proposed in New Jersey to make start times comply with this 8:30 standard, but it has yet to be passed.

The current start times are as follows: High school from 7:30am-2:30pm, Middle school from 8am-3pm, and elementary school from 9am-3:30pm.
The first proposal would move high school times to 8:15am-3:15pm, move middle school to 7:45-2:45am, and elementary school from 9:15-3:45. The instructional day would remain the same.

The second proposal would move high school times to 8:15am-3:15pm, move middle school to 7:45-2:45am, and elementary school from 9:15-3:45. Instructional time would remain the same for high school, but instead of the current 54 minute lunch, high school would only get a half-hour lunch. At the end of the day, there will be a 24 minute “office hours” period for all students. For middle and elementary schools, the instructional day remains unchanged

The third proposal moves high school start times to 8:39am-3:15pm, middle school to 7:45-2:45am, and elementary school from 9:15-3:45. Instructional time would remain the same for high school, but instead of the current 54 minute lunch, high school would only get a half-hour lunch. However, this proposal is the only one to achieve the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of moving high school start times later than 8:30am. In addition, there is a bill in NJ that if passed, would require schools to start at 8:30 or later. Many parents at the town hall pointed out that this proposal would prevent having to change the schedule again as it already complies with the 8:30am start time recommendation.

The fourth proposal moves high school times to 7:55am-2:55pm, middle school from 8:25am-3:25pm, and elementary school times to 9:25am-3:55pm. The instructional day would remain unchanged.

These proposals each have their own strengths and weaknesses, and more detail can be found on the @startlaterchps Instagram.

When given the opportunity to speak on these proposals, the community shared their voice. Many elementary school parents voiced concerns about elementary school times as a result of the survey they were given. Beth Becker, one such parent, stated that, on the survey given to middle and elementary school parents, the proposals were based off of, “only one question”… and that the question did not “give any more information or options.” To her, using that question to create a schedule “seemed disingenuous…because it’s not a true survey.” The question of the high percentage of satisfaction with start and end times with elementary schoolers was brought up by numerous parents, many of which stated that they would be open to other options.

One middle school parent also brought up that the AAP guideline is not only for high school students, but also for middle school students, and pushing the middle school time earlier does not accomplish that.

High school students also voiced their opinion on subjects like the impact of athletics on later start times, lunches, socializing, as well as their opinions on the proposals. Gina Liu (‘23), a founder of Students for Later Start Times and a member of the School Start Time Steering Committee reflects on the town hall. “I was a bit apprehensive walking in…but the reception we got from the public was really great” she explained. While the proposals weren’t perfect, Gina thinks that it was a great experience to get “all stakeholders involved in the process.”

The earliest implementation of the new schedule would be in the fall of 2023. To support, email SchoolStartTime@chclc.org or join the thought exchange at https://tejoin.com/scroll/951666912