CCS Staff Survey Overview

Town Hall Telephone Survey C’ville Tomorrow: If viewed as a two- question survey, percentages are 53% yes, 46% no for the initial schedule.

Predominant Themes: New schedule would be too dark/too early for elementary students/would exacerbate problems with elementary tardiness (15) New schedule would make the day too long for elementary students with after-school care/questions about CLASS (10) Don’t make CHS start any later (12) It follows sleep research/conventional wisdom for young kids and teenage kids (15) New schedule would negatively impact staff members’ personal/family lives (13)

Take-Aways Teachers acknowledge that all students need a lot of sleep (and probably more sleep than they are presently getting); the issue for teenagers is that their bodies appear to shift to later sleep/wake patterns. Many teachers fear increased elementary tardiness with an earlier start time and without older siblings waking the household up first.

Take-Aways People at all levels are concerned about how such a shift would impact after-school routines and activities – No older sibs would be at home to babysit elementary kids after school – Whether a shift in the elementary schedule would make a longer child care day for children is a case-by-case situation – Teachers want to see elementary activities and after-care enhanced if students are going to be there for a longer after-school period – Teachers feel very proud of the middle grades’ after-school activities and want to protect those programs if we change the schedule – Teachers feel that CHS’s after-school programs (or student jobs) are important, and they are already feeling the pressure of a relatively late end time

Take-Aways Staff members report that there will be some impact to their own personal lives, whether shuffling childcare or giving up a second job in the afternoon/evening. Some respondents requested a year’s notice for them and for parents to adjust child care arrangements, etc. 63% of staff and 52% of Town Hall participants want any changes to the schedule to begin this fall.