For the second time in the 2016-17 school year, school district administrators hosted a community forum on Wednesday, March 29, in the Newtown High School Lecture Hall, to hear input on school start times.

The first community forum on school start times was held in September. At the time, Superintendent of Schools Joseph V. Erardi said, "Every community has some unique attributes as to whether this is something that should be pursued or if this is something that should not be pursued."

He opened the March 29 community forum by reminding those present that the school board charged a School Start Time Committee at the start of this month to research the possibilities of changing school schedules based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation that middle and high schools start at 8:30 am or later. Dr Erardi said the committee expects to present its research to the school board at its scheduled June 6 meeting.

According to the School Start Time Committee charge, which was shared at the community forum, the committee will be facilitated by Dr Erardi and will include representatives of the district staff, Board of Education, and community. The committee, Dr Erardi added, also has a high school parent as a member, representatives of All-Start Transportation, and the group hopes to include a student perspective in the discussion.

Assistant Superintendent of Schools Jean Evans Davila, school board Vice Chair Michelle Ku, and school board member John Vouros, all members of the committee, plan to attend a national sleep study and school start time conference next month. Combining what they learn with other research the committee will complete, Dr Erardi said he is confident the School Start Time Committee will be ready to present a report on June 6.

Additional members of the School Start Time Committee are Ellen Aho, Alan Colangelo, Dan Cruson, Jr, Rich Dufour, Tom Einhorn, Jessica Fonovic, Kathy Gombos, Trent Harrison, Kim Joyce, Tom Kuroski, Matt Memoli, Dave Roach, Lorrie Rodrigue, Jim Ross, and Heidi Werner.

Part of the committee's work, Dr Erardi said, will include looking at impacts from a school start time change, including a possible change to the school district's current three-tiered bus system.

"We have an early morning fleet with our middle school and our high school, we have a middle fleet [with the] intermediate school, and our third and final tier in our three-tier system is our elementary schools.

"So we are doing an awful lot of exploration in regard to how we can make this all happen if school start times do change," Dr Erardi said.

Dr Erardi said the school board is interested in finding a "cost neutral" option, but it will also look at other options. He added that it is important to also hear from representatives of the local private schools that may be impacted by a change.

"It is my belief, and I am hoping it is the committee's belief, that our work needs to be grounded in what is best for children," said Dr Erardi. "That sounds very, very simple, but it gets complex in a hurry."

While Dr Erardi had to leave to attend a Legislative Council meeting, Ms Davila took over leading the forum.

Community Input

Ms Davila had people split into three groups to discuss ideas, concerns, and more from an elementary, middle, and intermediate school, and high school perspective. The groups later reported back to the entire forum.

Newtown Middle School eighth grader Christopher Lindsay shared his perspective first. While Christopher said he loves school and makes decent grades, the "spark" is clouded by exhaustion.

The elementary school group shared younger students would do well with an earlier start time, but not a much earlier start time. The group also shared the thought that having high school students attend school early was practice for the "real world."

The intermediate and middle school group reported an overwhelming agreement that students should not be standing at bus stops in the dark and concerns about health issues and childcare.

The high school group shared current frustrations about getting high school students "out the door,"and how students attending magnet schools would be affected by a school start time change.

Time was also left at the end of the meeting for individuals to voice their opinions and concerns.

oncerns were shared about the related health issues associated with a lack of sleep, and multiple people spoke about the importance of getting the community involved.

The next School Start Time Committee meeting is slated for Monday, April 3, at 10 am, in the Council Chambers at Newtown Municipal Center, 3 Primrose Street. The committee meets weekly, and Dr Erardi said the meetings are taped and posted on the town's website,

newtown-ct.gov.