ABSOLUTELY! LATE START DAYS RESOLVE ISSUES WITH SCHEDULING; SLEEP HABITS

Though the arrival of winter brings frigid temperatures, laziness, and unattractive clothing, it does have one powerful appeal that saves it from being the worst season of the year–snow days. Nothing can compare to the suspense and excitement felt on a cold, snowy evening when practically every student in the city longs for a day of freedom and relaxation. Snow days bring happiness to the otherwise dreary winter, but after weighing all options, late start days would prove more beneficial to the district’s well-being.

The 2010-2011 school year faced so many snow and ice storms that a number of St. Louis area schools overdrafted on their snow day allowances. According to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Missouri schools must log 1,044 hours of student attendance yearly. Ladue was one of numerous districts in the St. Louis area to fall short of this required time, and was forced to make up these hours.

Two options emerged for these schools: add hours onto school days, or extend the established school year. Fortunately, Ladue chose the former, replacing the finals week early releases with full days. Some unluckier schools decided on a longer school year, stretching into June. Though snow days possess fantastic qualities, summer remains the most precious time of a teenager’s life and should never be threatened. Late start days grant students the separation from school they desire, while protecting summer from any school-related interruptions.

The bus company Ladue uses begins running at around 6:45 a.m. each day. In many cases of inclement weather, road cleaning vehicles cannot efficiently clear streets before this time, and neither students nor bus drivers are able to travel to school safely. The district then cancels school, but mere hours later the roads are completely snow and ice free.

When this happens, most students gleefully decide they’ve discovered a flaw in the system. When students’ parents work, however, families with elementary or preschool aged children  face an issue of leaving young ones home alone. If the school district puts late start days in place, working parents won’t have to skip an important day of work to watch their children for no reason.

Similarly, late start days would allow students to extend their sleeping time by at least an hour. For some students, a combination of academics and extracurriculars leaves them sleep-deprived and exhausted. A survey of more than three thousand students by psychologists Amy R. Wolfson,PhD and Mary A. Carskadon, PhD found that “students who reported that they were getting C’s, D’s, and F’s in school obtained about twenty-five minutes less sleep…than students who reported they were getting A’s and B’s.”

In the past, students have relied on snow days as a reprieve from sleep deprivation, but late start days permit students to sleep in while accumulating class time. Therefore, more shortened days can be implemented, ultimately giving students more time to sleep and relax.

Late starts also prevent students from wasting the entire day sleeping. Oversleeping can have physical effects equally as unfortunate as a lack of sleep.

Snow days also pose an issue to teachers and their curricula. Last year, every snow day occurred on a blue day. Unevenness of cancelled school days caused some classes to be days behind the same class on a different day.

Even though they may seem unfavorable to the average teen, late start days would prove a viable option in keeping bus drivers and teens safe on the road, allotting an appropriate amount of sleep time, and helping both students and parents stay as productive as possible. #

ABSOLUTELY NOT! SNOW DAYS KEEP FACULTY AND STUDENTS SAFE ON ROADS

Over the past few years, Ladue students have enjoyed quite a few snow days.  Although they are a student’s dream, the administration worries that too many snow days in a single year may lead to extra days being added.  The administration has expressed an interest in changing snow days to late start days. While every kid will surely be up in arms about the prospect of losing precious time to play in the snow and get a day off, there are actually legitimate reasons to keep snow days.

There are a few problems associated with late start days. Transportation is a key issue when it comes to snow days.  Last year Ladue got at least one snow day based on the fact that the buses were covered in ice and couldn’t be driven safely.  Granted, the buses potentially could have been ready for use later in the day, but what happens when even that isn’t enough time to remove the ice from all the buses?

Another issue, that plagues the district as a whole, is many parents drive their children to school in the morning.  Working parents won’t be able to take their kids to school on their way to work?  How are they supposed to get their children to school for a late start day?

A few years ago, the district experimented with a late start day taking the place of a usual early release day.  They tried it once and have since not implemented anything.  Clearly the late start day was problematic, or else for the past few years we would be sleeping till 11:00 and leaving school at 2:20 on half days.  The parents caused an uproar fighting the late start days, and for a good reason.  It isn’t practical to expect people to supervise their children the entire morning while they should be at work.  Now people might argue against this point with the fact that the buses run through the whole district and so for late start days, children who usually get driven could simply take the bus to school.  However, recent budget cuts have left the districts with fewer and fewer buses and routes.  If everyone were to suddenly hop on the bus in the morning, there wouldn’t be enough room.  Also, houses within a mile radius of the schools no longer get a bus stop so those kids would be forced to walk to school through the snow and cold.

Another issue that arises is the fact that many teachers live outside of the district, and some in places without adequate snow plowing services.  If there was a late start day, numerous teachers probably wouldn’t be able to make it to school anyway, and everyone knows how much work gets done when there’s a substitute teacher.  Forcing teachers to drive on dangerous road merely to get an extra half-day of school in seems ridiculous.

All in all this push for late start days sounds poorly planned.  There have been a large amount of snow days the past couple of years, but irregularities shouldn’t be the cause of an overhaul in the school’s policy.  The school should just wait longer to call school for a snow day, as at least one time last year a snow day was called for the following day when the next morning arrived there was only an inch or two of snow on the ground.  Everyone likes snow days; they are fun and most importantly keep students and faculty away from the dangers of icy roads.  #