To the Editor:

A side effect of changing school start times is that it teaches students, and reminds us as parents, that community is about give and take. We have become a society that feels entitled to receive what we want, regardless of others needs and wants. Indeed, changing school start times does not give everyone what they want. The American Association of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend a school start time for grades 7-12 to be 8:30 am or later. We changed 40 minutes, but only to 8 am, not because we disagree with the decades of medical research, but because we had to compromise. We cannot afford the buses it would take to have every school in town start at the ideal time of 8:30 am; not to mention what the town would look like for commuters at 8 am with all the buses for all of the schools driving all over town. Years ago, the compromise was made to have the middle school and high school share buses. This created longer bus rides for these children. No one likes it, but we needed to save money. No one walks away from a give and take situation thinking they've "won." It is important to remember that no one has lost, either.

Reed Intermediate is an amazing school that offers our students a bridge between elementary and middle school. In our town, Reed is this "extra school" that makes our busing more challenging. Elementary and Reed now share buses to save money and it makes for longer bus rides for these children, just like it does for the 7-12 grades. I do not see how this favors one portion of students over another. It actually makes it more equitable than it was previously.

All-Star would consider where I live an "outlier." That means that even though I can drive to Middle Gate in under ten minutes, our bus ride was close to 40 minutes in the afternoon. I had to pick up if we had an afternoon activity. Parents on my street have to drive to a bus stop at the end of our road. Somewhere along the way, bus stops have fallen out of favor. No one wants longer bus rides, but no one wants the inconvenience of walking or driving to a bus stop. Some of us already do, though - is that fair?

For the sake of give and take, it is fair. Compromise is about making a decision that is the most fair for everyone. It does not mean that the people who complain the most and the loudest get whatever they want.

Compromise and fairness foster good faith in a community. No one group of students is more or less important than another. The K-6 group will share buses, just like the 7-12 group share buses. The 7-12 group will benefit from a later start time now, just like the K-6 group will benefit from the same later start time when they grow into those grades.

Kim Joyce

School Start Time Committee parent volunteer

11 Saddle Ridge, Newtown         August 16, 2017