Students in kindergarten through grade 3 arrive at Petrova Elementary School in Saranac Lake for the first day of class on Sept. 8. (Enterprise photo — Amy Scattergood)

SARANAC LAKE — As the school board prepares to take a vote on potentially swapping the start times of middle-high school and elementary school, responses to a survey asking parents, teachers and students their thoughts on the change have come back with mixed results.

The past school year’s schedule has been different because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Students at the middle and high schools have been starting two periods later than usual — around 10 a.m. — and students at Petrova and Bloomingdale elementary schools have started their days before the middle and high school, a reversal of the traditional schedule.

The district is considering continuing this schedule but with middle and high school students one period earlier instead of two. The goal is to have better rested middle and high schoolers, but there are also concerns about negative effects of changing the times students get to school.

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Results

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The survey got 475 responses from the family of students.

Around 240 of these families had children in the older age group, 120 had children in the younger age group, and 115 had children in both.

The survey got 106 responses from staff, more or less evenly distributed through all grade levels.

The survey got 224 responses from students in grades 8 through 12, with the younger ones responding more often.

In the end, they were all asked: “If you were to make the decision, which would you choose?”

One option would be for the district to return to its traditional schedule when it returns in September. The middle and high schools would start first at 7:40 a.m., with elementary schools starting at 8:45 a.m. The upper grades would end their day at 2:40 p.m. and the lower grades at 3:30 p.m.

The other option would be to alter the schedule to have elementary schools start first at 7:45 a.m. with middle and high schools starting at 8:50 a.m. The lower grades would end their day at 2:45 p.m. and the upper grades at 3:15 p.m. with a period for extra help and activities lasting until 3:50 p.m.

Families said they preferred elementary school starting first 62% to 38%. Staff agreed 60% to 40%. Students said they preferred the middle-high school starting first by a slim margin of 53% to 47%.

Superintendent Diane Fox said this shows her that the comments reflect many different situations families have and that opinions on whether this change should be made or not are very individual.

“Depending on what’s happening in your family before school, after school and with your student’s extracurricular activities, there’s no single answer that fits a significant number of our families,” Fox said.

Fox said any school schedule is “not one-size-fits-all.”

The full set of data and comments resulting from the survey can be found at https://bit.ly/2SyaPi7.

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Responses

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Several parents said that if middle and high schools start first it would result in them needing to pay for more child care. Others felt their young children are more alert in the morning while middle and high schoolers need later to sleep in a little longer.

One parent said starting older students earlier would help families who live far away, making driving their students in easier. But another said older students starting later would fit their driving schedule better.

A staff member said they felt it was fine to sacrifice sports time at the end of the day for better rested students in the morning.

“We can’t allow the student part of our student-athletes to get lost,” they wrote.

A coach in the district said with this year’s later start for middle and high schools, they’ve noticed more “awareness” and less “fatigue” among their athletes.

“They were not sluggish prior to a match and also seemed to be able to complete assignments with the extra morning time if we returned late from a game,” the coach wrote.

Some middle and high school students said starting earlier would give them more time at night to do homework. Others said a later start would make them safer, more rested drivers.

One student was concerned that if the older grades started school later they wouldn’t be able to watch over their younger siblings in the evenings while their parents are still at work.

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Board

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Ultimately, the decision comes down to the board.

The board is also split on its opinions of swapping the start times. Some support it, some are game for trying it out, and some are against it, at least right now.

Board member Mark Farmer voiced several concerns he has about what he calls “unintended consequences” of changing the start time of school, many of which he said are unique to Saranac Lake.

He said it would increase the amount of time students driving to BOCES classes would be on the road and during the winter he was worried about road safety. For sports, he said night games get cold in Saranac Lake. He also wondered if shifting the schedule later would mean high school students stay up later, too.

Farmer said he wants to wait on voting on the start time change and get back to a normal school year in September.

Fox said if the board worries about every possible scenario before voting no changes would ever happen.

Board member Jeremy Evans said changing the start time of the school day would be a “leap of faith.” He suggested that the board make the change to see what happens and review the effects in November, after the fall sports season.

He said if the board does choose to make the change, it should not forget about all the potential issues that have been brought up and only focus on the benefits it brings. He said the board should try to remedy these issues as they appear.

Fox said she’d like the board to vote on this at its June 23 meeting.

The board agreed that they’d like board member Rick Retrosi to vote on the potential start time change before his term is up, because he’s been involved in all the conversations.

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School start time options

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Option 1: The district returns to its traditional schedule in September. The middle and high schools would start first at 7:40 a.m., with elementary schools starting at 8:45 a.m. The upper grades would end their day at 2:40 p.m. and the lower grades at 3:30 p.m.

Option 2: The district alters its schedule upon its return in September. Elementary schools would start first at 7:45 a.m. with middle and high schools starting at 8:50 a.m. The lower grades would end their day at 2:45 p.m. and the upper grades at 3:15 p.m. with a period for extra help and activities lasting until 3:50 p.m.