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FHS Alternative Schedule for 2008 - 2009 School Year FHS is going to offer more alternatives to school start time for the 2008 - 2009 school year. This document will attempt to answer questions regarding the schedule that students, parents and the community may have. Click here for a copy of THE SCHEDULE
FHS has a commitment to try to provide students with a "learning environment that empowers all student to achieve success..." Most research shows that students perform better and have better morale when school starts later. According to an article in American Medical News, "Teenagers need more sleep...to fit more appropriately with the adolescent's inner biological clock. According to some doctors, adolescents need about 9.5 hours of sleep per night, but are inclined to go to bed later because of biological changes" (Lamberg). A study in Pediatrics touts that "Both short-term and long-term strategies that address the epidemic of sleep deprivation among adolescents will be necessary to improve health and maximize school performance" (Hansen). While some may think that if students were to start school later they would just stay-up later, research conducted by the University of Minnesota shows that "rather than adjusting to the later start time by staying up longer, students continued to fall asleep at about 11 p.m., capturing an hour's more sleep a day" ("Students..."). While we believe that many students will function better if school start times are later, we also believe that we have motivated students who could also benefit from an earlier start time. Currently there are students who arrive at FHS shortly after 6:00. In addition to the benefits to students, we also hope that this program might help parents. An article in Education World states that "Parents comment on the lack of stress in the morning at home due to a more leisurely preparation time for school…They find their children less stressed and more focused on school" (Hopkins).
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FHS is also close to capacity as a school. Currently every space in the school is in use every period. When a teacher has planning time, another teacher is teaching in the classroom. The ramifications of this is that we have few spaces to which students may go to receive tutoring of be able to work on projects or other work during their off time. If enough students opt for an alternative schedule, we may free a few rooms to be used for tutorial purposes. Anyone who has driven past FHS at 7:00 in the morning knows that the traffic situation is difficult. While we do not anticipate that this will create a significant alleviation to traffic difficulties, it could provide some help.
Hansen, Martha, Imke Janssen, Adam Schiff, Phyllis C. Zee, and Margarita L. Dubocovich. "The Impact of School Daily Schedule on Adolescent Sleep." Pediatrics 115.6 (June 2005): 1555(7). General OneFile. Gale. Franklin High School. 24 Oct. 2007.
•Hopkins, Gary.
“Alternative School Calendars:
Smart Idea or Senseless
Experiment?” Education World.
16 November 2004. Accessed 19 December 2007. <http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin126.shtml>
Lamberg, Lynne. "Teens Aren't Lying - They Really Need to Sleep Later." American Medical News 37.n45 (Dec 5, 1994): 24(2). General OneFile. Gale. Franklin High School. 24 Oct. 2007 <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>. "Students Are Beat, New Poll Confirms; Only One in Five Middle and High Schoolers are Getting Enough Sleep." Sarasota Herald Tribune (April 12, 2006): A1. General OneFile. Gale. Franklin High School. 24 Oct. 2007. <http://find.galegroup.com/ips/start.do?prodId=IPS>.
Students opting for one of the alternative schedules will have to provide their own transportation.
•Only
classes that have sections that meet during the standard schedule will
be offered at alternative times.
•Gatekeepers
to graduation will be a priority: English, history,
foreign language, math, government, and
economics.
No additional costs should be accrued. The schedule is a voluntary schedule by both teachers and students. In order for a class to be offered on an alternative schedule, there must be at least 20 students willing to take the class and a teacher willing to teach it. The teacher will also attend the alternative schedule just as the students do; so, the teacher will not be teaching additional hours.
For some students
it will be difficult. We believe that participating in
extra-curricular activities is valuable on many levels. Most
extra-curricular activities will probably continue at the normal times,
so students participating in those activities would have to opt for an
early or normal schedule unless coaches, teams, or sponsors were able to
make special accommodations.
Late classes will not meet on Monday to allow teachers to participate in the late start schedule and faculty meetings. Classes offered in the normal and early time will meet for about 50 minutes each day. Classes offered during the late schedule will meet for about 62 minutes Tuesday - Thursday to make-up for the lost time. Several years ago FHS offered four day a week classes without little disruption to test scores. Research suggests that a four-day week properly managed will not have any detrimental impact on students or the school. In an article found in School Administrator, Jack McCoy, deputy director of learning services at the New Mexico Department of Education, said in his district's case "attendance for teachers and students improved while scores on standardized achievement tests remained stable. Additionally, the attractiveness of a four-day workweek made staff recruitment easier."
Pep rallies will still occur at the normal time. Students who attend an early schedule would be able to stay after school to attend the pep rally if they so desired. Students who opt for a late schedule would have to attend class after the rally ended.
If you have questions about the schedule, feel free to contact one of the following committee members who worked on the development of the schedule: Stephen Womack, Ann Stavros, Lily Leffler, Willie Dickerson.
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Franklin
High School
