NCHS New Canaan High School building

New Canaan Board of Ed Supports Later Start Time for High School

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With inconclusive survey results and established health data in hand, nearly all members of the Board of Education said Monday night that the district should pursue a new school start time schedule that allows teens to get more sleep. Though the Board took no formal vote at its regular meeting, seven of eight members present said the district should devote further study to an option that would see New Canaan High School start at 8:20 a.m. — 50 minutes later than the current 7:30 a.m. start time. — This article previously was published by NewCanaanite.com. “I think that based on the research that has been done, based on the feedback that we have, it’s worth figuring out whether there is a viable option to have our teenagers go to school later,” Board of Ed Chairman Brendan Hayes said at well-attended meeting, held in the Wagner Room at NCHS. “And the likely [outcome] from that, although I think [it’s] also beneficial for our younger students, is for them to go to school earlier.”

Under the proposed new start time schedule, all of Saxe Middle School would start at 9:05 a.m. (currently 7:30 a.m. for seventh and eighth grades, 8:20 a.m. for fifth and sixth) and the elementary schools at 7:45 a.m. (currently 8:20 a.m. for South School, 9:05 a.m. for East and West elementary schools).

South School sign New Canaan

New Canaan Superintendent Describes Option for Later Start for Secondary Schools; Earlier for Elementary Schools

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New Canaan elementary schools could start as early as 7:30 a.m., with New Canaan High School starting later in the morning and all of Saxe Middle School starting last, under a new proposal that New Canaan Schools Superintendent Bryan Luizzi unveiled Monday night. He said the idea is not something he’s recommending because it needs to be looked into further by the administration and the Board of Education. — an article from NewCanaanite.com republished here (with slight changes) because later start times are under consideration by some school districts in this area and elsewhere. This article shows some of the complications that go into changing school schedules. Citing anecdotal evidence that younger children tend to tire in the afternoon, Luizzi said the proposed new system — suggested by New Canaan Public Schools Transportation Coordinator Roy Walder — could largely preserve the current and cost-effective three-tier busing system, though it also comes with tradeoffs.