Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 17, 1995 TAG: 9501170159
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Getting home from school early in the afternoon does not necessarily cause students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades to get into trouble, as School Board member John Saunders had speculated.
Juvenile crime and pregnancies apparently do not increase among Roanoke middle-school students, who get out of school 40 minutes earlier each afternoon than high-school students.
According to city Juvenile Court records for November, no middle-school student was charged with a crime between 2 and 4 p.m.
And the pregnancy rate among middle-school girls is lower than for girls in high school.
Partly as a result of the findings, the Roanoke School Board has decided to keep the current opening and closing times for middle schools - Addison, Breckinridge, Jackson, Madison, Ruffner and Wilson.
Money also was a factor.
To make a change, the school division would have had to spend nearly $1million for 20 new buses. The operational costs would have been $316,000 per year.
The middle-school day begins at 7:40 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m.
At Saunders' request, the School Board asked Superintendent Wayne Harris a few weeks ago to investigate the possibility of later opening and closing times for middle schools.
In many single-parent families, an adult does not arrive home until 5:30 or 6 p.m. In many two-parent families, both work.
Saunders raised the possibility of switching times for the middle and high schools so the younger students would get home later and have less time alone. The high school day starts at 8:25 a.m. and ends at 2:40 p.m.
But Richard Kelley, assistant superintendent for operations, said the rescheduling would be complicated by the fact that the opening and closing times for five elementary schools coincide with those of the high schools, and the students ride the same buses.
That wouldn't be possible if the high schools opened earlier, he said, because it wouldn't be safe for elementary pupils to go to school that early. The children would have to walk to school or to bus stops in the dark from late fall to early spring.
If the high schools started earlier, Kelley said, the school system would need to buy at least 20 buses to transport children in those five elementary schools.
He said there is no widespread sentiment for a change in school opening times among school administrators or parents.
Some administrators fear that an earlier high-school closing time could cause an increase in crime by high-school students.
Some teachers believe that middle-school students would learn better with a later opening.
If the opening time for high schools were moved back to 7:40 a.m., Kelley said, it could increase the already high tardiness rate. The rate is lower in middle schools.
If high schools opened and closed earlier, he said, there would be more time for students to work in the afternoon, but that could cause them to be more tired.
Many of the advantages of having a later middle-school opening time translate into disadvantages for opening the high schools earlier, Kelley said.
by CNB