Yipee wrote on Jul 17, 2008 11:07 PM:Parent Power!!!! It feels so good to know that the board is listening. Maybe they will be a little less willing to rubber stamp all of the proposals made by the district office and will scratch below the surface to make sure that they and the parents aren't being steamrolled. Way to go parents, thank you for showing up in force.

Avg Joe wrote on Jul 18, 2008 5:36 AM:Thank you. Now that we got that out of the way, can we get to the business at hand...

READING

WRITING

ARITHMETIC

How odd wrote on Jul 18, 2008 6:21 AM:What's wrong with starting school at 7:30? I went to school at 7:30 in elementary school through high school. Are parents just that lazy to get up in the morning or what?

was fine wrote on Jul 18, 2008 6:57 AM:8:55!!! You have got to be kidding me. What time to they get out of school 4:45??
I drop of my high schooler at 7:30 (she starts at 7:40) and now I have to wait for another 1 hour and 15 minutes for my middle schooler to start?? INSANE!!

Reconsider it... wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:05 AM:because it is too late. What time can parents drop their kids off at school. Are the teachers going to babysit these kids if we drop them off at 8:00??

HOORAY wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:22 AM:I am a middle school student. I hate getting up early. I can sleep in now and stay up later and talk to my friends on myspace. Way to go parents. Thank you for fighting what we wanted! My mom wanted me to start early and I got my way again. HA HA Mom in your face!

Why wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:34 AM:Doesn't everyone just start at one time. Say, between 7 and 8 a.m.? you pick the min.

Soon-Gill wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:47 AM:I was very impressed with the decision of the board last night. I have never understood why we need a constant flux if we all have to go through the elementary, middle, and high school years. The bell schedule should have stayed the same. As far as having elder children babysit younger ones, I never thought it was a school's decision to babysit children.

Oscar wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:49 AM:this is crazy earlier was better, kids will have to stick around school before it starts for over an hour. Truly parents are lazy or have banker hours.

Sarah wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:22 AM:I applaud the board's decision. Starting school at 7:20 (as they had originally planned) was ridiculous. Study after study shows that kids need more sleep. It's not as simple as putting them to bed earlier either. Most parents don't get home from work until at least 6 and it stays light sometimes until close to 8. The one thing I don't understand is starting middle school an hour later than elementary. I know it's a transportation issue, but they need to address that next. Calavera Hills has neighboring schools and only start 20 minutes apart. The board next needs to see how Madison/Lake can figure out something like that.

When I went to elementary school, our bell schedule was 9-3. Getting gets out of school too early creates more problems than them starting later in the morning.

Working Mom wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:25 AM:8:55am start for middle school is insane, especially for us working parents who have to figure out how to get the kids to school and get to work on time. Also, the kids get out far too late to be able to participate in extracurricular activities AND get homework done at a reasonable time.

Wake up wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:52 AM:I am disappointed that they decided against the earlier start time. When my daughter was in kindergarten (VUSD-Alamosa Park) and they had year round school, she started at 7:30. Starting them close to 9 in the morning is a waste of a day. I think we need a new board!!!

Is It Really Successful wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:57 AM:VUSD is the only district with the 8:55 start time for middle schools. So why aren't other districts following suit?? If your child plays Middle School sports like Basketball or Football, they are pulled out of their last class in order to make it to their afterschool games at other campuses? Does that make sense?

Jake wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:15 AM:As Sarah wrote, many studies have shown teens aren't getting enough sleep. All schools should start at 9:00 or later and run until about 5:00PM. Also schools should be in session 10 months or more per year as in many countries that far surpass the USA scholastically. Our schools are in regular session 180+/- days per year; about six months.

lucky mom wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:17 AM:I'm lucky this year I'll have no child in middle school, but the following year I hope they change it. The last few years of 8:55 start time was horrible. They need to provide before school supervision unless they want to deal with kids just "hanging out" when working parents need to drop them off.

What is worse is that neither we or son were never even TOLD about ANY of the before school activities going on. NOT ONE FLYER, not one notice. Is this only a word of mouth if you are "in the know" kind of system?

Putting back bus service would solve most of the problem. The lack of environmental awareness is discusting. We have thousands of cars eating up gas and creating polution to make two trips a day to pick up and drop off of middle and high school kids throughout VUSD compared to 1/3 that if we had bus service. Many are way too far away or off dangerous roads with no sidewalks, such that they cannot safely walk or ride a bike to school.

Our family is getting out of VUSD as soon as possible, especially with the threat to deny transfers -- which is probably illegal since that was what the No Child Left Behind program was all about, NOT the scapegoat others make it out to be.

Working Mom wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:19 AM:Well since, as the article mentions, more than half of the people in the survey voted to keep the schedule the same, I applaud the board for doing the survey in the first place. I'm happy. Maybe we can make the other half happy next year by solving the bus issue.

Add:

ART
MUSIC
DANCE
DRAMA
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
SCIENCE
WORLD STUDIES
CREATIVE THINKING 101

to the business at hand....

Working Mom wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:22 AM:Well since, as the article mentions, more than half of the people in the survey voted to keep the schedule the same, I applaud the board for doing the survey in the first place. I'm happy. Maybe we can make the other half happy next year by solving the bus issue.

Add:

ART
MUSIC
DANCE
DRAMA
PHYSICAL EDUCATION
SCIENCE
WORLD STUDIES
CREATIVE THINKING 101

to the business at hand....

What study wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:39 AM:Show me ONE STUDY that states that school should not start early. The individuals that are stating that kids need more sleep is truly stated, BUT ,the study of sleep has nothing no do with school starting early.If kids are in bed at a reasonable hour, they should get the amount of sleep they need.

Bilko wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:41 AM:Children, especially teens, are sleep deprived. Look at all the students sucking down high caffeinated 'power' drinks. Some are now hooked on 2-3 or more of these severe jolts to get through the day. These drinks should be banned on school property; and parents might monitor their kids' intake of this much caffeine. Do you have a young zombie?

Anna wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:43 AM:Keep Mr. Lacey at Foothill Oak Elementary. We cant' afford to loose him. Find another great principal for Bobier dont' take our great principal and give us someone else.

majority rules wrote on Jul 18, 2008 9:49 AM:I think it is good to go with what works for the majority, instead of a few. The people have spoken and we are good with it. Not everyone is going to be happy, so let's make the best of things rather than complain.

Juggling wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:02 AM:I totally agree with "Working Mom". Try having a child in all three levels and trying to juggle three different start times. It's RIDICULOUS!

lucky mom wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:05 AM:Unfortunately the old schedule was better than any of the proposed schedules, however why did none of them include something that had kids starting 20 minutes apart in each level so parents don't need to make a separate trip per school for pick up and drop off:

7:30 Elementary School
7:50 Middle School
8:10 High School

In these times of high gas prices having an hour between school start times costs parents a lot of time and money! Not to mention just wastes gas.

And how many parents even knew about the poll? I wouldn't have known at all except I'm on one of the Board members email distribution. The majority of who voted does not mean the majority of parents voted.

Sarah wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:05 AM:I do feel for the working parent issue. If it started earlier though, wouldn't you have the same childcare issue after school as you do before? The only way that wouldn't be a problem is if you worked part-time and were home by the time the child gets out.

I have a child in each school and the way it is now, I'll be taking 4 trips a day since they start so far apart from each other. Adding more busses (sp) is not the solution though since it's bussing that is causing the delay in middle school starting anyway. I've heard it said that they need the busses to be able to take two trips in the morning. I don't see why they don't do away with bussing all-together (except IEP students). San Marcos is going that route. Why is it the school's job to get kids to school? I have to get my kids there myself since we live within the bus boundaries. Instead of cutting programs for all due to budget cuts, why not cut bussing that only serves some of the kids?

working parent wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:49 AM:I think that all schools should start at 7:30, this way parents that work dont have to worry about babysitting before school. I think the middle schoolers are the ones that get in more trouble in the morning then any other grades.

Sarah wrote on Jul 18, 2008 11:33 AM:To What Study-Is all you have to do is google "Teenagers Need More Sleep Study" and you'll find your answers. Teens brain chemistry is different than those of younger kids and adults. Their bodies just don't shut down for sleep as early as the rest of us, so it's not just as easy as put them to bed sooner. You can go as far as sending them to bed, but that doesn't mean they'll sleep!

To Lucky Mom-I got a telephone message from the district regarding the poll. They even made computers available at summer school sites for those that didn't have internet access.

PARENTS wrote on Jul 18, 2008 4:13 PM:Thank you VUSD!! For those of you who think it's about kids & parents being too lazy to get up early - that was not the case in my situation. I would gladly drop off my middle-school child at 7:20 so long as I could drop off my elementary-school child before 8:00 a.m. all in one trip and I'd be off to work by 9:00. But with the proposed schedule, elementary would start 2 HOURS later at 9:15. Total mismanagement of time.

Educator wrote on Jul 18, 2008 6:28 PM:Mr. David Lacey is an exemplary leader and true professional educator. Thank you VUSD Board for considering keeping him at Foothill Oak. The children there need him!

Vista Watchdog wrote on Jul 18, 2008 7:42 PM:Back in the day I used to walk to school. Parents didn't drive us, it would have taken them away from their other chores/duties. When my children went to school we had busses that picked up the kids or again they walked. Now days, with all this concern about Global Warming and high Gasoline prices, school Districts and the State of California seem to have forgotten about one of the best and most efficient and effective Mass-Transit systems around: School Busses! If the State Transportation budget were to simply provide a few dollars to fully fund school busses for all ages K-12, the start and ending times of school would not be such a big deal, as children could take the bus. Of course, the District is Legally bound under Education Code 32282 G to provide for the safe transportation of children to and from schools. So, why is it that parents are having to drive one or two children at a time all over the district to get them to school? What a waste of time, money, and ENGERY! The Carbon Footprint caused by the decision to not provide busses is going to really cause some heat as the price of gas hits $5 or $6 per gallon!

carpool people wrote on Jul 18, 2008 8:25 PM:So much complaining about all the driving, different schedules, high prices of gas, etc. Have any of you that are complaining ever thought of carpooling? This would greatly help the situation. Team up with another family or two, and one parent can drive to elementary, while the other drives to middle school, etc. I have been carpooling for as long as my child has been attending school and it has worked out great. Give it a try. Truly I dont understand the dynamic of having kids at more than one school- this will be my first year, but i intend to follow the plan listed above and dont anticipate any problems.

Escondido Parent wrote on Jul 18, 2008 10:37 PM:I went to Vista schools in the 70s and remember junior high started at 7:30am. In fact, there was a time when I was walking to the bus stop in the moonlight back when the time change went in effect. I am now a parent in the Escondido school district and we are on our own to get our children to school. The high schools start at 7:30am. The middle schools start around 8:00am and coordinate start and end times with its feeder elementary schools, up to 15-20 minutes apart. It has been like this for the past 14 years that I have been in the school system with minor changes (plus or minus a few minutes) each year. It has worked out great because in 30 minutes you can make the loop through town, drop off at three schools, and be on your way to work, all by 8:00am or earlier. I have friends in the Vista district who are not pleased with the late and spread out start/end times, not to mention the alternating times that have usually occured over the years because yes, it makes it difficult for the working parent. But on the other hand, Vista parents should be so lucky to have any school bus service at all. I guess you can't have it all.

Vista residentparent wrote on Jul 19, 2008 10:12 AM:The is no reason for school to not start early. so many parents do not realize that over half of the students are at the school by 7:30 -8:00. with little supervision, or they are wandering around. Do we really know what are kids are since most of us are already at work. Once in high school we will have to get them to school by 730, so why not start now. There is no reason without the morning classes. The board should look at the schools and community as a whole, not just a "few dozen parents" since the middle schools have over 1000 students each!!!!!

They should really rethink this!

Sarah wrote on Jul 19, 2008 11:44 AM:I do agree with those that state that schools need to start within a closer range of time to each other. The problem is the buses though. There are only so many buses to go around, so they can't possibly have all kids to different locations at the same time. I've heard that this is the reason for the staggard start times.

School Busses wrote on Jul 19, 2008 11:48 AM:What ever happened to school busses??? Why don't we have them any more? Aren't school busses funded separately or are the funds just part of the total budget being eaten up by high salaries of too many administrators.
Or is it because VUSD decided years ago to have many, small, local community schools as opposed to larger centralized and efficient schools. Thus causing the district to spend significantly more money running all these little schools (water, groundskeeping, painting and other maintenance, and administration) and so has no money left to provide busses. I guess VUSD just want to be a works project for all the various groups working in the education supprt field as opposed to being a premier education provider!

I Guess wrote on Jul 20, 2008 10:49 AM:we just have to deal with it.

Mass Transit wrote on Jul 20, 2008 6:59 PM:With the cost of fuel these days, the significant polutants and CO2 emitted by driving cars, and congested roadways, and any number of other issues, there is no logical reason why the State should not fully fund Schools Busses for every school! Besides, just think of all the CSEA members that would have to be hired!

Back in the day... wrote on Jul 21, 2008 12:42 AM:When I went to Junior High (Middle School) in Oceanside it started at 9:00am and ended at 3:15pm. I walked to and from Jefferson crossing over Mission Ave because my parents both worked. There are options for most parents, such as teaching Middle Schoolers that they can either walk or ride a bike with a strapped helmet. Children are so pampered today, no one walks. If they did so, maybe the traffic around these schools would be less and it is cost effective. Walking is free last time I checked. Just a thought.

Fat Kids wrote on Jul 21, 2008 8:14 PM:Let's see, the schools cut Physical Ed., then cut bussing, set bell schedules that make it hard for parents to drive their children to school, and so the parents all complain and get them changed back. All teh while the kids are getting fatter and fatter due to the lack of exercise! I say, restrict access to the schools and charge parents for driving them and dropping them off! Yes, another tax or fee: we could call it a transportation tax that will be used to purchase new desks needed to accomodate the bigger students that are showing up in our classrooms!
By the way, the new vending machine options aren't working! The kids are still gaining weight and lossing valuable skills tehy need to survive in this society (or what is left of it any way).

Parent and teacher wrote on Jul 22, 2008 2:06 AM:My primary concern centers around timing the start times between elem., MS., and HS., better. What causes working parents the logistical problems are the long periods between school start times. It incurs an additional daily expense to provide supervised transportation. I wish they all started within a 30 -40 minute block of time.

Lucky Mom wrote on Jul 23, 2008 1:32 PM:Just wanted to say that we did not get an automated message about the bell schedules as some did.

Regarding buses. The elementary schools are the ones with the bussing, and they are the ones with BEFORE and after school care. Most people who work aren't going to send an elementary child home alone on a bus, however once they are teens, that would be fine.
The elementary schools are also the ones scattered throughout the district and more likely to be within walking distance. The Centralized schools at middle and high level that NEED bussing don't have it. If we lived within a mile and there were actually sidewalks or a bike lane, I'd definitely have my children walk or ride a bike.

Unfortunately many of us STUCK in VUSD are not in the city of Vista but are in the rural unincorporated area. My children would have to walk over 3 miles each way to middle school on a dangerous windy road with no shoulder and blind hills where 2% of the cars that drive it have been clocked going over 100 mph. I'd LOVE to feel I could let my children walk or ride safely.

There is no way they could even travel to the elementary from our house without walking about 5 miles, much along hwy 76.

When I was a kid, you had to be over a mile away to get bus service. That seems very reasonable.

Many of the children going to VUSD schools are in the rural areas where it is either unsafe due to road conditions or unreasonably far for them to walk or ride a bike.

Victoria wrote on Jul 23, 2008 10:08 PM:............as I said in my email to many friends, 'If it ain't broke don't fix it' what a concept, eh?