The Eden Prairie School District is looking at changes to its school start times that would allow four elementary schools to start at the same time (8:55 a.m.) and add 15 minutes to the K-6 school day.

Before a decision is made, though, district staff is looking to get feedback from parents. The proposed schedule change would move the Central Middle School start time to 7:50 a.m., (currently it’s 9 a.m.) and push back the Oak Point Intermediate School and Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion start times to 9:25 a.m. Oak Point currently starts its day at 7:50 and Eagle Heights starts at 8:25 a.m.

According to Patricia Magnuson, the executive director of business services, staff looks at the issue of start times every year. This year, because of efficiencies in bus routing, the district has been able to figure out a way to do something different “that we think is probably a better framework for the educational day.”

“Now, we’ll see if people agree with us on that,” she added.

For a number of years, the district has been switching the start times for elementary schools, so that two of the five schools start at a different time from the others. For instance, this year, Eden Lake and Prairie View start at 9:25 a.m. while the three others start at 8:35 a.m. Magnuson noted that schedule was based upon the number of school buses the district had and what could get done.

“It wasn’t optimal. I don’t think there’s ever a perfect schedule that meets everybody’s needs because we just don’t have the resources for that.”

In a letter sent out to parents last week, the district highlighted a number of reasons why they are looking at the proposed new schedule. Among the reasons is that it would allow “for optimal learning time for more elementary students on a consistent (year over year) basis.”

Magnuson noted that, the way the schedule is set now, every two years the district has to flip at least two of those elementary school starts. This proposed schedule allowed the district to move four of the schools to a before-9 a.m. start time.

The more-consistent elementary start time would also allow for elementary teachers to more easily connect with each other. This change lines up those schedules, noted Magnuson, and gives staff a consistent pattern of teaching and learning together.

The costs for implementing this change would be “pretty minimal,” said Magnuson. There might be incremental costs depending on how the time is used in the school day, but she said she could not provide specifics yet.

She said that another benefit is that it aligns the time for secondary schools.

“It made sense to us to line up our older kids in a better schedule like that.”

Parent concern

Steve Hines, who has children at Oak Point Intermediate, had concerns about that earlier start time for CMS.

“I’m disappointed that the school starts as early as it does,” he said.

Hines referred to research to come out of the University of Minnesota that points to the benefit of later school start times for teenagers.

“It’s not good for any students to start that early. They need more sleep than that.”

Laura Graham, a parent of students in Oak Point and CMS was not in favor of the changes.

“There is no educational purpose to change the time,” she said.

Graham believes the reasoning behind the change is to align the Eagle Heights Spanish Immersion School times and accommodate the out-of-district families that have their students enrolled in Spanish immersion.

Eagle Heights students in grades three and four will be housed at Oak Point starting next year. Under the proposed change, Eagle Heights students in K-2 and 3-4 would all start at 9:25 a.m.

“The district has failed to provide evidence that this proposed time change will increase learning or be beneficial to the majority of the students attending these schools,” Graham wrote in an e-mail.

Kris Kerber, who has students at the high school, middle school and Oak Point had concerns about the amount of down time CMS students would have with the change.

If they’re home two hours in advance of their parents “I just feel as though that’s “that’s leaving the door open for risky behavior for some kids that would have life long implications for them.”

The district will take feedback on the issue until Nov. 19. Parents can e-mail communications@edenpr.org or call 952-975-7150. The district plans to make a decision before winter break.Kerri Riester, an Eden Lake parent, was glad for the opportunity to give feedback.

“For my family, it actually works out really well,” she said about the change.

“One of the biggest things that I thought was great was that the district decided to ask people’s opinions about it ahead of time and offer us a place to give them feedback.”

Riester said an earlier start works great because, under the current time, two of her three children get home then have to turn around and head out to evening activities.

The change would allow them to have more down time “before they have to start their second round of events.”

To have 15 more minutes in the day “is positive,” she added.

“It gives them that extra time.”

She said it puts all the elementary schools on an even pace.

“It seems like it’s more of a consistent kind of schedule that everybody can just plan on.”