APS says new start times will be good for high schoolers. But not all elementary school parents are happy.
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After years of going back and forth, Albuquerque Public Schools unveiled a slate of new bell schedules for schools in mid-April, which the district touted as a research-based way of improving outcomes for teenagers.
But the move didn鈥檛 sit well with everyone 鈥� especially for some families at Bandelier Elementary School.
In June, several parents of the Southeast Heights school 鈥� which saw one of the most drastic time changes of any elementary school in the district 鈥� voiced their concerns to the school board, chief among them the heavy blow the school鈥檚 new bell schedule could strike on their students鈥� schedules and wellbeing.
APS' new bell schedule: Later start times for some, earlier for others, and some longer days
鈥淢y little 6陆-year-old daughter needs 12 hours of sleep. So that means she鈥檒l have to go to bed at 6 or 6:30 (p.m.) to wake up for this new start time,鈥� Julia Hyams, a Bandelier parent, told the Journal in an interview after the June 7 meeting.
鈥淚t just feels like a bait and switch, like, 鈥楧o you want middle and high schoolers to succeed? 鈥� Good, we do, too. And now let鈥檚 forget about the elementary students,鈥欌�� she added.
Hyams, along with other Bandelier parents, also expressed concerns over the possibility of being forced to walk their children to school in the dark to make it in time for the school鈥檚 new 7:30 a.m. start time, and that the new hours 鈥� which lengthen the school day, cutting into teachers鈥� paid time used for duty 鈥� may drive away teachers.
鈥淲e fought to keep kids at our school through COVID, and all of the teachers that wanted to leave and (had) finally gotten everything working together and teachers happy,鈥� Sarah Voglewede, another Bandelier parent, said. 鈥淎nd now they鈥檙e about to rock the boat.鈥�
When deciding bell schedules, the district did have conversations about the impact on staff, Superintendent Scott Elder told the Journal. But at the end of the day, he said the district is 鈥渁bout student outcomes,鈥� and that bell schedule decisions weren鈥檛 made on individual schools.
鈥淲e had to make (decisions) based on the general idea that we wanted to start high school at a later start,鈥� Elder said. 鈥淲hen you begin with that premise, then you have the secondary considerations that come in, such as transportation. 鈥� So there was no thought of 鈥榃hat will this do for this individual school?鈥欌��
The conversation over adjusting school start and end times went on for a long time 鈥� more than a decade, Elder said 鈥� before the district finally pulled the trigger. Part of why the district opted to swap earlier start times to elementary schools is that younger students tend to do better earlier in the morning than older students, he said.
Even so, Elder acknowledged the transition will be a difficult one for the Bandelier community.
鈥淚 appreciate the parents coming forward and sharing their concerns. 鈥� However, there are other communities that have adjusted to that start time,鈥� he added. 鈥淚 do recognize this is a big shift for that school.鈥�
Under bell schedule changes, Bandelier鈥檚 start time will be bumped up from 9 a.m. to 7:30 a.m.
Bandelier is one of about 35 elementary schools that will start classes at 7:30 a.m. No elementary schools started that early last school year, according to posted to the district website.
Bandelier鈥檚 hour-and-a-half jump is also one of the most drastic of all the district鈥檚 elementary schools. When comparing school start times of the most recent school year with those for the coming year, only four other elementary schools 鈥� of the district鈥檚 almost-90 鈥� will see classes begin earlier by as much as or slightly more than Bandelier.
In an ideal world, the district would be able to start school at the same time for everyone, Elder said.
But that ideal world is precluded by APS鈥� ongoing struggles with having enough bus drivers to get everyone to school on time, he said. That鈥檚 part of why the district staggered bell schedules so that elementary, middle and high schools tend to start at different times.
And because bus schedules are staggered, adjusting the start time of just one school has a domino effect for other schools, Elder said.
Though Elder has said the district has enough drivers to cover the bell schedule plan for the coming school year, APS does currently have around 25 bus driver openings, according to a district spokeswoman.
The district鈥檚 busing woes, though, didn鈥檛 seem to stop Bandelier parents from feeling they鈥檙e getting the short end of the stick.
鈥淚t seems like they鈥檙e erring on the side of allowing the high school (students) to go to school later because that鈥檚 the research, but they鈥檙e not following the research then for elementary school 鈥� just kind of falling in line because of the bus issues,鈥� Voglewede said. 鈥淲e want to support the district. But we want to feel like they鈥檙e listening to us and supporting us.鈥�
School board member Barbara Petersen, who represents the board district that covers Bandelier, said she met with school community members in late June to discuss their concerns.
But her points closely mirrored Elder鈥檚 in that while she understands the community鈥檚 concerns, 鈥渢he problem with the start times is that with the number of buses and drivers we have, it鈥檚 like a house of cards,鈥� she said.
鈥淒efinitely, they were disappointed that there wasn鈥檛 a change,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think they understood that there are things that we can鈥檛 fix in the short run.鈥�
Bandelier parents still feel they鈥檙e waiting for a resolution. But while Elder said the district will keep looking at start times throughout the school year, he reiterated that this is something that will just take some time to get used to.
鈥淭he start times will take a little while to get adjusted to,鈥� Elder said. 鈥淏ut they鈥檒l adjust.鈥�
