Boston Public Schools will scrap a plan to change school start times next year.
The plan was initially intended to help high school students get more sleep because research shows sleep can improve brain functioning and lead to higher test scores. To do this, school officials said they had to shift elementary class times earlier to keep transportation costs in check.
Parents protested the changes and emphasized that earlier dismissal times for younger students would shift the financial burden of after school programs to families.
The district announced today that they will shelve the plan after hearing that the shifts “caused a more significant disruption to family schedules than we intended,” Superintendent Tommy Chang wrote in a letter to families today. Although no changes will take place next year, Boston Public Schools officials still plan to consider schedule alterations in future years.
Our coverage of K-12 education is made possible with support from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation.
