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School start times to stay same

By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on July 9, 2014 1:46 PM

Start and dismissal times at all Wayne County Public Schools will remain the same for the coming school year, with a slight shift in the start time at Edgewood Community Developmental School.

The school board approved the schedule Monday night. The state requires school start and closing times be approved on an annual basis.

David Lewis, executive director of accountability and information technology services, said the only change made was at Edgewood.

"Their start time on paper was bumped up," he said. "Buses will arrive at the same time. Instructional time will start about 10 minutes earlier (than before)."

The new hours at the school will be 8:50 a.m. until 2:50 p.m. The schoolday formerly began at 9 a.m.

The only questions raised by the board centered around previous concerns at the Spring Creek schools and the tendency to have children in upper grades start much earlier than the elementary schools.

Citing the example of Brogden Middle, which takes in at 7:30 a.m. while Brogden Primary's start time is 8:15 a.m., board member Chris West said he often gets asked by parents, "'When are we going to flip-flop those times?'"

Lewis said it all boiled down to child care for younger students.

"The idea was to have them come in later in the morning," he said, explaining that having a later dismissal time created more ease in securing afternoon child care.

Board member Arnold Flowers said he still has parents in his district asking about the gap between school start times -- Spring Creek High starts at 7:45 while the elementary school starts at 8:30.

The 45-minute difference creates a hardship for parents with children at both schools, he said.

The scheduling gap has to do with the long bus routes, Lewis said, especially in areas where buses are shared.

The situation is not unique in being part of a tiered bus system, as the Rosewood schools and Greenwood and Meadow Lane also share buses and likewise, have staggered start times.

But the Spring Creek schools shift only occurred two years ago. In July 2012, when the start and dismissal times were approved for the next school year, Spring Creek Elementary's schoolday ran from 8:30 a.m. until 3:15 p.m. while the high school hours were 8 a.m. until 3 p.m.

In the fall, after the school year was under way, a bus driver shortage created delays and warranted a change at four schools in the southern end of the county. Spring Creek's hours were changed, with Carver Elementary moved to 15 minutes later and Mount Olive Middle's day was shifted to 15 minutes earlier.

At the outset, Flowers raised questions as to whether the change would become a short-term or permanent solution.

Two years later, officials have still not been able to reverse the decision.

The schools and their opening and dismissal times are:

*Brogden Middle, 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

*Brogden Primary, 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

*Carver Elementary, 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

*Carver Heights Elementary, 8 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.

*Charles B. Aycock High, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

*Dillard Middle, 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

*Eastern Wayne Elementary, 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

*Eastern Wayne High, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

*Eastern Wayne Middle, 7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.