Edina Schools hears divided opinions on start time changes
The Edina School Board held a public listening session on February 9 to gather community input on a proposal to shift school start times, with the board scheduled to make a final decision on March 19. The proposal would move middle and high schools to later start times based on sleep research, but sparked significant concerns from parents and teachers about safety, after-school care, and academic programs.
Dr. Schultz presented the district's recommended three-tier schedule: elementary schools at 7:50 a.m., high school at 8:30 a.m., and middle schools at 9:20 a.m. The plan aims to align with research showing that adolescents benefit from later start times while keeping transportation costs manageable at 42 buses per tier.
Elementary school parents expressed strong safety concerns about the earlier 7:50 a.m. start time, citing dark mornings, icy conditions, and increased traffic. They also worried about the cost and availability of extended after-school care for working families. Robert Jelinski, parent of a second-grader with autism spectrum disorder at Creek Valley Elementary, questioned whether the district would provide specialized after-school programming for special needs students during the longer afternoon gap.
Middle school teachers and parents mounted the strongest opposition, arguing the 9:20 a.m. start contradicts sleep research for 11- to 13-year-olds and would eliminate crucial after-school activities like theater, homework clubs, and labs. Teacher Feroze Amedda noted that no middle school teachers were formally consulted and warned that high school athletics using facilities before middle school ends would cost students 60 hours of instruction annually. However, some speakers, including Dr. Brian Bass, a principal from Saint Paul Public Schools, supported prioritizing student health and academics over extracurricular concerns.
Other concerns included questions about why the district uses public buses for Our Lady of Grace, a private school, and whether the proposal solves a financial problem through a programmatic solution that creates new costs for families. The board will vote on the proposal March 19.
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Votes (1)
Public Listening Session on School Start Times and Transportation Proposal
Dissent: Multiple speakers voiced strong opposition and concerns regarding various aspects of the proposed schedule, including elementary safety, middle school program integrity, and equitable access to activities.
The session began with an overview by Dr. Schultz on the research supporting later adolescent start times, the current and proposed three-tier transportation schedules, and the financial goal of 42 buses per tier. Public comments followed, presenting diverse perspectives. Parents of elementary students expressed significant safety and aftercare concerns with earlier start times. Middle school teachers and parents strongly opposed the late middle school start, citing negative impacts on academics, extracurriculars, and staff. Other speakers discussed special education needs, the role of private schools in public busing, and a call for teacher consultation. Some parents supported the proposed changes, emphasizing student health and academic prioritization.
Notable Quotes (10)
The school board's considering the research that's happening across the country that is telling school districts especially high schools and middle schools to have adolescents start later.
I think 750 is too early I think 9:25 or 920 for middle school is too late... I'm very concerned that those first bus pickups would be 7 o'clock even perhaps earlier when you talk about the choice program schools.
I just I can't emphasize enough in the in the deliberation that's going on with the board that putting our children's health and their academics at the front of this conversation is what should be driving the decision versus X curricular activities.
Middle school learners are not being honored in the present proposal in my opinion for these reasons student access to learning facilities for example high school athletics want to be allowed to enter the building prior to the end of the school day... 14 to 18 which doesn't hit the target middle school age of 11 to 13 which is what is actually at our school.
I was kind of shocked to find out that all Gees buses were being used with the Dinah public system... I just don't understand the buses with being used OLG... I think maybe start times should be different with high school being first so on and so forth.
No one has asked us our opinions as middle school teachers... having high school team start to practice before middle school is done can deny students 60 hours of instruction by taking away 20 minutes a day... my percentage of grades from my period one two classes at eight o'clock to my one and two o'clock there is a seven to nine percent higher grade level in the morning classes.
My son Aiden is in second grade at Creek Valley and he has moderate autism spectrum disorder... if there's such a large time window then we're just concerned is there a specialized schedule thing where our autistic students and Down syndrome students have something for them to do.
If I were coming in as a consultant... you are trying to solve a financial problem in terms of the buses with a programmatic solution which anybody who spent considerable time in the nonprofit will tell you that that's really not best practice... we're solving one fiscal problem by causing another for a lot of working families.
I support the recommendation to flip tier 3 and tier 1... it does prioritize academics over necessarily extra qulet extracurriculars... at the end of the day if you look at research and it talks about the type of hours of sleep that kids at this developmental stage need I think it's the right decision.
I've seen very specifically at South youth this year the school really working very very hard to embrace the middle school concept... if you make those things available to them it's kind of like what's fun somebody spoke to earlier did the equity to get those kids in earlier if you're not gonna have buses all of the opportunities we're creating for the middle school kids to send on to be academically successful at the high school you're going to eliminate.
Ordinances & Resolutions (4)
Research body whose science is instrumental in communicating the impact of sleep on student engagement and attentiveness, informing the board's decision to consider later start times for adolescents.
A study cited as supporting earlier start times for elementary children, used by a speaker to support their viewpoint.
A letter submitted to the board supporting later middle school start times, including a letter from his seventh-grade daughter.
Suggested by a parent for soliciting appropriate after-school programming for special needs students from providers like Fraser or Partners in Excellence.
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Other Topics from This Document
Impact on Elementary Students
Impact on Middle School Students and Programs
Special Education and Staff Concerns
Fiscal and Logistical Challenges
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