UCFSD School Start Time Initiative
New start times were implemented for the 2017-2018 school year and a follow up study was conducted at the end of the year to assess benefits, impacts and sentiments. The study was presented to the Board August 13, 2018 and it revealed that the majority of indicators of success have moved in a positive direction. Students are getting a modest amount of more sleep. The Administration will continue to assess the program. Please click here to view the results of this study.
The UCFSD School Start Time Committee began it's work in the 2016-2017 school year. Their charge was to evaluate the impact to all stakeholders of opening schools later in the day. A student led initiative had laid the ground a year before. The Student Forum comprised of students throughout the county and supported by the CCIU was conducted in the 2015-2016 school year. The students found compelling evidence that supported a move to later start time and they presented their findings to their school district's.
The UCFSD Board took up the challenge and created a committee to evaluate the student findings. The committee was charged with validating the student findings and to consider opportunities and challenges to implementation. The committee was composed of a variety of stakeholders, representative of the UCFSD community. Finding clear evidence of the value of later start times and having identified the obstacles/issues the committee next began to work with transportation to develop options and simultaneously to work with stakeholders to address alternatives and solutions.
In the end the committee recommended a 25 minute later start time for secondary students and small modifications to the elementary schedule. This website documents the process involved in this initiative.