The Colorado Springs Gazette final

D-20 backs off time changes

District to revisit issue in 2024-25

BY NICK SULLIVAN nick.sullivan@gazette.com

Academy School District 20 is postponing the implementation of its new start and end times until the 2024-2025 school year.

The postponement will allow time to more clearly understand the impacts and scope of the proposal, the district said in a newsletter to the D-20 community Friday.

“While there is no universal agreement about the specifics of the plan, we can all agree that changing start/end times is significant for all families,” the announcement reads.

“This winter/spring, we will engage with our community about this topic in a variety of ways. We will first hold several in-person community forums across the district. We will present information, as well as answer questions and solicit feedback and possible solutions.”

D-20 operates under a staggered schedule in which schools start and end at various times. The new schedule would standardize times under a three-tier system: elementary schools will run 7:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.; high schools will run 8:10 a.m.3:15 p.m.; and middle schools will run 8:50 a.m.-3:55 p.m. Challenger Middle School is the one exception, running 8:20 a.m.-3:25 p.m.

District leaders first outlined their reasoning at a Jan. 19 school board meeting, citing more sleep time for students as the primary motivation, and the alleviation of transportation issues as a secondary reason.

The 40-minute difference between start times is the minimum duration necessary for buses to run their routes, Chief Operating Officer Brett Smith said at the meeting. The new schedule will also streamline start times and decrease bus routes by 10%, thus freeing up buses for more field trips, activities and athletics that the understaffed transportation department sometimes has to cancel because of lack of drivers.

The announcement follows a concerted effort from some parents to reverse the decision altogether.

Lindsey Jensen, a D-20 mother of two students, created a website for the effort and a petition that has amassed more than 2,200 signatures as of Friday.

“How are parents going to work? That’s impossible,” Jensen said of the planned schedule change. “None of that was brought up with anybody, and I think that’s the biggest thing that most people are mad about. We weren’t even given the opportunity to come up with another solution.”

As a result of the postponement, D-20 might not be able to provide bus services for field trips, after-school activities and special events, according to the announcement.

Dates, times and locations for community feedback sessions will be sent via email and posted to asd20.org once finalized.

“We will engage with our community about this topic in a variety of ways. ... We will present information, as well as answer questions and solicit feedback and possible solutions.” District 20 newsletter

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2023-02-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

2023-02-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

https://daily.gazette.com/article/281711208799363

The Gazette, Colorado Springs