The schools superintendent in one of New Jersey’s larger districts is urging caution as state lawmakers consider making 8:30 a.m. the earlier allowable starting time for high schools.
Hamilton Superintendent Scott R. Rocco did not oppose the proposal but outlined potential complications in a letter to three legislators this week. His Mercer County district has 23 schools, including three high schools, and enrolls 12,400 students in grades K-12.
“A change of time at the high school is a single domino in a long line. Moving this one will affect many other things in the daily operation and annual planning of all schools in a school district and will have external effects on families and the community at large,” Rocco wrote in his letter, which was sent Thursday and obtained Friday by NJ Advance Media.
Rocco wrote that enacting a statewide high school starting time mandate, without adequate time for local planning, would impact transportation and after-school activities, possibly run afoul of union contracts and risk inconveniencing families.
“If this is the direction that our elected officials feel we must go, then we must be given ample time to identify the impact this change will have and be able to properly plan for it,” Rocco concluded.
His letter was sent to three lawmakers from his district, including Sen. Linda Greenstein, D-14th District.
Sponsors of the bill in the New Jersey Legislature, including Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, have cited the impact on student mental health due to not getting enough sleep and noted that the coronavirus pandemic has worsening rates of anxiety and depression among adolescents.
Chatham High School, in Morris County, recently announced that it is moving back the start of the high school day from 7:40 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. in September.
“We can all agree that the last two years have been a challenge for our students and communities,” Rocco wrote in his letter.
“The recovery from the pandemic will require social and emotional support, as well as mental health services, for our children as they return to the pre-pandemic routines of school and extracurricular activities. In addition, no one disputes the benefits of a full night’s rest so our students may be more focused and productive in school,” Rocco wrote.
In his letter, Rocco wrote that transportation costs for the 2022-23 school year are projected to increase by 10% to 15% due to fuel costs and driver shortages.
“Changing the start time of the high school may result in additional cost increases if districts can not tier their start and end times so as to maximize bus routes and usage,” Rocco wrote.
Rocco wrote that Hamilton’s high schools currently start at 7:50 a.m., followed by the middle schools at 8:25 a.m. and the elementary schools at 8:45 a.m.
“In order to accommodate a change at the high schools, we would need to change the times of all 24 schools in our district. The impact would not be exclusively on high school students, but on all students and their families that have established routines around the school day,” he wrote.
After-school activities, particularly sports, are another possible complication, he added.
“Hamilton does not have lights on our athletic fields, so outdoor activities are limited to daylight hours, which diminish daily in the fall. A change in start time limits available time after school because the end time of school will be later,” he wrote.
New Jersey ranked 12th earliest in the nation, with an average high school starting time of 7:51 a.m., as of 5 years ago — the most recent compilation available via the federal National Center for Education Statistics.
Rocco was named superintendent of the year for 2022 last November by the New Jersey Association of School Administrators.
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Rob Jennings may be reached at rjennings@njadvancemedia.com.