The district is reviewing three different alternatives for new start times-which would push them back to either 8:10, 8:45, or 9:00 a.m. The more efficient school day would facilitate a possible later start time for the high schools. Under the new plan, the school day at both high schools would last 6 hours and 45 minutes, with the exception of Tuesdays, which would last 6 hours and 25 minutes. The initiative plans to align Newton North and South high schools, which currently operate on different schedules, in the fall of 2020.Ĭurrently, the longest school days at Newton North and South-which have rotating schedules that change every day-last 7 hours and 30 minutes and 7 hours and 40 minutes, respectively. Thank you.The Newton school district is making plans for its high schools to adopt a new, more efficient schedule that would cut the length of an average day by 24 minutes and allow for possible later starts to the school day.
To parents and students, if you do not want your name displayed on this web page or receive further updates from us, you can do so by unselecting the checkboxes below your information. We look forward to your response and appreciate your attention to and leadership on this issue. If kids know that school doesn’t begin until 1 hour and 20 minutes later than it typically did, they’re just going to stay up later……it’s simply human nature! We need to support all the families including working parents in Newton.Ĥ.Parents report that with the current later start time, their high school age students are now staying up later than they ever have. This proposal may create new challenges on working parents when their work day begins between 8:00AM-9:00AM. There is a high percentage of students who need to work after school or pursue academic or personal enrichment, including theater arts/music, debate teams and various other extracurricular activities, some of which also require early dismissal.ģ. There are better proposals to achieve that objective that don't include the 3:45PM dismissal time. We believe in later start time for high schools, and students can profit from getting extra sleep. This will mean missing tests, labs, work-group assignments and critical classroom time….all of which is difficult to make up. This proposal will have a significant impact on student-athletes (about 1/3 of student population), and will place them under additional academic stress.Ģ. With the proposed 3:45PM dismissal time beginning in the fall of 2021, student-athletes may miss 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours of class time for each away game. We urge you to take a step towards promoting cultural diversity and AAPI awareness within the Newton community by signing our petition and sharing it with others.ġ. We strongly believe that Lunar New Year should be added to that list and would benefit those celebrating in the Newton community. NPS currently addresses five holidays as no school holidays – Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Yom Kippur, and Rosh Hashanah. We believe that a similar change for Newton is possible and aim to follow in the footsteps of Brookline High School. 9, 2020, the Brookline School Committee unanimously passed Lunar New Year as an official Category I holiday, leaving a historical mark on AAPI cultural recognition. Students worked with the Asian Pacific American Club to lobby the school committee and created an online petition that gained over 1000 signatures. Our neighboring town, Brookline, and its public school system, which also consists of a 20% AAPI student body, has shown considerable success regarding this issue. As a result, AAPI students lose the chance to deepen their connection with their cultural roots and take pride in their Asian identity. Although an excused absence is allowed, many families are hesitant to do so out of fear of missing a day of education. However, as the second-largest racial group in the NPS system, constituting 20% of the student body and 14.8% of the entire population of Newton, students, and families who identify as Asians would greatly benefit from having the entire day off. In reality, Newton Public Schools does not take the first day of Lunar New Year off so families in Newton must, unfortunately, push their full-scale celebrations aside.Ĭurrently, Lunar New Year is only a “recognized observance day” which means students still have school, but homework and tests are not allowed. The first day of the Lunar New Year is the most important: families get together to celebrate, taking part in rituals requiring great preparation, such as cooking, cleaning, and decorating. Observed by more than 2 billion people worldwide, the holiday begins in late January or February and lasts 15 days. Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in many Asian cultures, including China, Vietnam, Korea, and many more.
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