During delayed starts, students at Old Rochester Regional High School have the chance to get some extra sleep, go out to eat before school, or gain some much-needed study time.
On two Thursdays each month, school starts an hour later than usual for all high school students. This is the second year in which these delayed starts have been in effect, as they returned on September 18 after being reapproved by the ORR School Committee.
Delayed starts are an attempt by Principal Michael Devoll to allow for teacher planning time, while offering students time to catch up on studying or pick up an extra hour of sleep.
To shorten the school day, about half an hour is cut out of students’ first two classes to make up for the hour of lost school time. During the time before homeroom, students go to the cafeteria, auditorium, or library depending on their grade level. As usual, the school is open at 7:00 am to accommodate kids who may have no ride or need a place to study. Students then file out to homeroom at 8:30 am, once most people have arrived at school.
For obvious reasons, delayed starts are a big hit. But what exactly do students think is the biggest advantage of these special days and how are they most commonly being used? To get the big picture, I spoke to a variety of students, as well as Vice Principal Michael Parker, to find out how they’re using their extra hour.
As I expected, sleep is one of the biggest reasons why delayed starts have such a good reputation. Junior Sarah Ryan, Sophomore Jacob Spevack, and Freshman Evan Tilley all said that was how they have spent their time on these days.
Ryan added that she “sometimes gets to school an hour early to do my homework.”
Evan Tilley had an interesting way of looking at the situation. He spoke of the other benefits the delayed start brings, including ease in parents’ transportation schedules. Since many Tri-Town elementary schools also start around 8:30 am, parents with kids in the high school and elementary school could theoretically drop both off in one trip.
“For parents, it’s easier to drop kids off since younger siblings go to school later,” Tilley said.
With this extra sleep, kids are generally more awake for the school day.
“I feel more awake for school [on delayed start days],” Spevack commented.
One of the negatives many students have encountered during delayed start days is not being able to use their lockers during the late starts. Both Ryan and Tilley mentioned this, and it has been commonplace to hear this talked about around the school.
Spevack added another thought, saying, “It would be nice if teachers were available during that time.”
Although this would be extremely beneficial to students, there is a simple explanation for why they are not available during delayed starts, and most likely, never will be. Delayed starts are a time used for extra teacher development, as explained by Parker.
In the long run, this teacher planning and development time will help out all of ORR’s students.
“The long term gains of the delayed start include better teaching and new types of instruction,” Parker said.
I was fortunate enough to be able to ask Parker a few more questions. In response to the question of why the late starts were implemented, he responded, “They are a pilot program to see how high school students do better later in the day. Also, it allows us to look into possibly moving back the start of the school sometime in the future.”
Speaking on problems with this program, one that has arisen is that more kids are tardy on days with delayed starts than normal start days. After acknowledging this, Parker thought of a couple ways to entice kids to arrive to school earlier on days that start at 8:30 am, and entertain the kids who always show up early.
“We could offer students additional speakers, programs, and extra staff to help,” said Parker of some of the ideas.
Delayed starts have so far been a positive thing for the school. Although ways for improvement have been found, students have been supportive of the program since it began last year. Parker, in particular, seemed very optimistic about the program, stating, “I have no reason to believe they won’t continue next year.”
By Patrick Briand
