Communications Update #2
Dear PLSD Community Members,
Welcome back to school; we hope you had a restful summer!
As the school year approaches and families prepare for students' return, we invite parents, teachers, and all community members to continue discussions regarding the proposed changes to start and end times. We are excited to invite the community to the first of three upcoming Listening Sessions, designed to ensure a final proposal is well-informed and reflective of the community's needs.
Our first Listening Session will be held on Thursday, August 15th from 6-7:30pm at Diley Middle School. This first session will start with a presentation regarding data and factors impacting this decision, followed by a facilitated discussion to identify your questions and primary concerns. This discussion will help our Stakeholder Committee determine what additional information needs to be obtained or issues that need deeper discussions at our second Listening Session in October.
We will be providing translation services for the following languages: Nepali, Spanish, Tigryna, and French. If you require translation services, or any other accommodations, please register using this link.
We hope you can join us on August 15th! If you are not able to attend, please know that this will be an ongoing conversation with several other opportunities to provide input. We will also share the presentation and summary of discussions with you following the conclusion of the meeting.
Stakeholder Committee for Start/End Times – First meeting update
The newly formed Stakeholder Committee for Start/End Times held its first meeting on July 22nd. This committee is a diverse group of parents, teachers, administrators, and community leaders working together to ensure all perspectives are represented. The goal of this committee is to guide an inclusive community process around the issue of start and end times for the PLSD district, assess the feedback and data being collected during this process, and determine a final recommendation to the School Board.
During this first meeting, committee members shared the concerns they have heard in their communities, as well as their personal concerns surrounding the current and proposed start/end times. Perspectives shared included:
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Schedule shifts, even small ones, can have significant impacts on families and we do not fully understand these impacts as of now.
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Later end times, particularly for elementary students, is creating challenges for students who struggle to concentrate in the later afternoon and for teachers who are juggling their own childcare, particularly when bus schedules are impacted.
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There are a lot of unanswered questions about how this could impact certain policies or services such as special education, medication protocols, etc.
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Several committee members shared that there is some confusion within the community about what is driving this discussion and what factors are influencing it.
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Nearly all committee members noted that the general sense from their communities is that this decision and the communication around it felt rushed and needed broader input.
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Several questions were raised around bussing and transportation logistics, and how much of an impact that was having on this decision.
The committee reviewed the initial data summary provided by RAMA Consulting, which included national studies and Pickerington data from the survey earlier this year as well as the transportation study completed late last year. They recommended additional information be added to the Listening Session presentation, to ensure that the community had better context and to address any misconceptions. The committee also discussed the need to include feedback opportunities for families who do not speak English, the inclusion of coaches/extra-curricular programs that could be impacted, and the involvement of PTO groups in disseminating information.
The second Stakeholder Committee meeting will be held in September to review the feedback from the first Listening Session and determine next steps for a collaborative decision-making process with the community.
