Winter weather raises late start proposal
By Shelby Brokaw
February 03, 2010
This winter in Kansas will undoubtedly be one to remember. The temperature stayed stranded below freezing, and the snow came down mercilessly. The roads seemed to blanket themselves in ice and refused to be exposed. The wind even added to the chill, gusting, blowing and wafting until the drifts rose to discouraging heights and the streets stayed buried in snow.
In the wake of such a winter, Dr. Randy Freeman, Silver Lake superintendent, proposed a new practice at U.S.D. 372. Rather than continuing with the method of canceling school in the early morning, he suggested delaying that decision for two hours, thus, implementing a late start practice.
Freeman said, however, that he had been considering using late starts even before this winter. He was already mulling the idea over during his first year at Silver Lake because it had been a practice at his past school districts.
"Safety is basically the reason for even considering a procedure like this," Freeman explained. "At the last three school districts that I was in, we had that procedure in place before I ever came there. It was a common practice."
In his monthly message to the public, Freeman informed the district about his consideration of using the late start. Written at a time when Silver Lake was being pummeled with snow, this caused some confusion, but Freeman explained that he did not plan on putting the practice into effect for another year.
"The intent of why I sent the information out was for people to start preparing to be able to make arrangements with child care and things like that...to kind of make people aware that this was probably going to become a procedure that we might use," said Freeman.
He explained the logistics of adopting such a practice. Freeman explained that he would first assess the roads at around 4:30 a.m. If he decided the situation called for it, he would declare a late start and school would be set to begin at 10 a.m. He would assess the roads again at around 8 a.m. after the road crews had gone out and determine whether the weather warranted a complete snow day.
He reiterated that school would not always be held on a day the late start was called.
Gail Naylor, a high school English teacher, supports the late start.
"I would rather see students than not. I like the delay start just because it does allow us to do at least an hour's worth of work, whereas if the students are home and school is out, I might not be able to at least be assured that they are doing any work. The reason I don't like it, though, is because I still have to drive out here," commented Naylor.
The only issue she had with the proposal was in the schedule for the high school. (see below) She noted that second lunch was scheduled for 2 p.m., an hour before the end of school. Naylor pointed out that this was a long time to be educating someone without something in his or her stomach. As she recognized, though, the late lunches could be in response to the arrival time of the cooks.
Christina Weber, another high school English teacher, also agreed with the late start proposal. She only foresaw one problem that could surface.
"This could be a problem for working parents because they won't know for sure if they will have to find someone to watch their kids for the entire day. Even for two hours, are they going to have to stay home from work for two hours just to make sure someone is with their kids? So, it would be a problem for them with their work schedule and having some kind of day care, especially for younger children," she said.
While the late start proposal will be nothing more than a proposal for a while, Freeman advised parents to begin making their plans for the future now. He said that implementing the practice may sometimes mean one less day away from school, but it can also be used to prevent quick decisions that could risk putting students, staff, and parents at risk on questionably hazardous days.
Proposed Junior High / High School Late Start Schedule:
10-11:05: First Block
11:10-12:15: Second Block
12:20-1:50: Third Block
1:55-3:05: Fourth Block
Lunches:
12:15-12:45 Junior High Lunch
12:50-1:20 First High School Lunch
1:35-1:55: Second High School Lunch
