High School Start Time Working Group
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High School Start Time Working Group
Beginning in the Fall 2015, the district engaged in a thorough exploration of later start times for Newton high schools. This work was predicated on the significant research demonstrating the importance of adequate sleep for adolescents at appropriate times. Surveys of students, faculty, and families, as well as input from other stakeholders, led to the formulation of six potential scenarios. Feedback on those scenarios was analyzed and shared in the winter of 2017. A recommendation was made to the School Committee in March 2017 and was accepted.
Subsequently, the costs of implementation, including the impact on busing costs, city-wide transportation and traffic, as well as extra-curricular impacts, were further researched for two years. After the Covid19 pandemic, the recommended new high school schedule was implemented with a start time of 9:00 and an end time of 3:45 (3:25 on Tuesdays) beginning in the fall of 2021.
Relevant documents and reports from this process are linked below. The district is working to assess the positive impacts of this later start time, and to mitigate the challenges resulting from the later end times.
- Adoption of New Schedule and New Start and End Times - 2021
- Updates and Reports - 2017-2019
- Schedule Development Process & District Recommendation - 2015-2017
- Health and Wellness Information