As the 23-24 school year begins at EHS, many have noticed that administrative changes to school expectations and structure have been made this year. One of these new policies was pushing back school start times.
On March 9th, 2023, EWSD superintendent, Beth Cobb, publicly announced that the new EHS start times will be 8:40 am. Notably, the high school start time has been considerably changed compared to the previous year’s 8:00 am timing. The reasons for this are the bus driver shortage and subsequent bus route cancellations according to the announcement by Cobb.
“In our current system, our transportation requires 23 drivers, but with the updated start and end times, we can reduce that to only 17 drivers,” Cobb’s email stated. “The improvement will see our younger learners start five to 20 minutes earlier, while our older learners 25-to-40 minutes later.”
This change by the district has garnered mixed reactions at EHS, with many being vehemently opposed, and others being entirely in favor of the alteration. Many students who criticize the decision find that the late start times do not line up with their parents’ working schedules.
Liv Pariser, a sophomore at EHS, has been greatly impacted by the new start time.
“Just because the school start times have changed doesn’t mean that our parents’ work schedules have changed,” Pariser said. “For example, my dad lives in Williston, and I can´t walk from Williston, so I have to stand outside for 30 minutes after he drops me off.”
Cold temperatures and the weather are also a concern among students, as EHS does not let students in until 40 minutes before school officially starts. This means that many who get to school around 7:00 am are left outside without any heating.
Leah Miller, EHS sophomore, shared Pariser’s sentiments.
“With winter right around the corner, they should be letting students in before 8 am, because it is honestly not safe,” Miller said.
Administrators seem to have a slightly different perspective on this situation, specifically regarding letting students in early.
“School starts at 8:40 am, so opening the facility 40 minutes prior seems sufficient,” Principal Van Nostrand wrote by email. “I know the safety team is trying out the idea of opening the doors prior to 8 am as the weather gets cooler. After 8 am they can go to the cafeteria or library until the passing bell sounds at 8:30 am.”
On a positive note, Van Nostrand stated that he had seen a decrease in student tardiness in the morning, which he believes is a result of the later start. He also wrote about the decrease in bus route cancellations this year.
“Anecdotally we have seen a decrease in students being late to school in the morning,” Van Nostrand wrote. “You will probably find a decrease in bus route cancellations which was, I believe, the primary reason for making the adjustment.”
There has been no further change to the start times this year. EWSD students and staff will simply have to observe how the change continues to affect the school year, and if the district will keep it in place in the future.
