Petition: BEST Bell Times for ALL Montgomery County, MD Students

My name is Lisa Rigazio. I am a new MCCPTA delegate for Flora Singer Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD...

Changing the Bell Times is an issue that this forum is already quite well aware of. Since this issue was initially about finding a solution to starting high school later, many elementary school parents, such as myself, have not stayed abreast of the developments. The recent proposal by Dr. Starr however, tacks on an additional 30 minutes to the END of the already very late school day for elementary schools. This is an additional change that he has stated publicly is not directly tied to changing the start time of high school. This is something that elementary school parents are just beginning to learn about and, from what I am hearing, are not in full support of.

This elementary school time change add-on puts elementary school parents, like myself, who fully support the later high school start time in a very difficult situation. Our kids will be going to high school very soon so want what is best for them then, but not at the expense of their many years in elementary school now.

I have started a petition asking the superintendent and the board to support a Bell Times proposal that DOES NOT END ANY SCHOOL LATER THAN 3:30PM. This does NOT address directly adding 30 minutes to the ES day in general. It simply opposes adding them to the END of the already late day for elementary schools.

I urge you to read the petition for details and to bring this concern of elementary school parents to your PTA’s. I am glad that MCPS is taking this year to fully research the impact of the current proposal on our entire community. And I am hopeful that open and frank discussions of both the great benefits and challenges of the Superintendent's proposal will bring about a greater solution. One that will serve ALL of our students every step of their way through our wonderful school system.

Please share this petition with your PTA’s and local communities.
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/best-bell-times-for-all?source=c.url&r_by=5755375

Thank you for your time! And I look forward to hearing comments on how we can provide the BEST Bell Times for ALL students.


Sincerely,
Lisa Rigazio
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/best-bell-times-for-all?source=c.url&r_by=5755375