Welcome to Start School Later Midcoast ME!
Who We Are
We are a coalition of parents, educators and doctors throughout Knox and Lincoln counties advocating for healthier school start times for our middle and high school students. Growing numbers of school districts in Maine and around the nation are adopting later school start times to comply with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control.
We are a coalition of parents, educators and doctors throughout Knox and Lincoln counties advocating for healthier school start times for our middle and high school students. Growing numbers of school districts in Maine and around the nation are adopting later school start times to comply with the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control.
Why a Regional Approach
Shared regional technology centers and athletic calendars require cooperation across municipal borders. It will benefit all three school districts if this change is adopted in unison, helping facilitate a change in schedule at the Mid-Coast School of Technology. Parents in each of the three districts have been advocating for this change for more than a year, and created this joint page and a Facebook group to facilitate sharing of communication among the three districts (see link below).
Shared regional technology centers and athletic calendars require cooperation across municipal borders. It will benefit all three school districts if this change is adopted in unison, helping facilitate a change in schedule at the Mid-Coast School of Technology. Parents in each of the three districts have been advocating for this change for more than a year, and created this joint page and a Facebook group to facilitate sharing of communication among the three districts (see link below).
As pediatricians and parents, we of the department of pediatrics at Pen Bay Medical Center would like to offer our full support to moving the school start time for middle school and high school students back. Find Out More
To join or get more information about the Midcoast ME chapter, please fill out the contact form below. |
StatusIn spring 2017, the school boards of RSU 13 (Rockland/Owls Head/Thomaston/St. George/Cushing), SAD 40 (Waldoboro/ Warren/Friendship/Union/Washington) and Five Towns CSD (Camden/Rockport/-Hope/Appleton/Lincolnville) will consider later school start times (to take effect in the 2017-2018 school year). If all three schools approve this move, the Mid-Coast School of Technology in Rockland will adopt a later schedule as well—a big benefit to the island students that attend there.
Update!Thank you to those who attended the public forum on February 28th. Your input is valuable and appreciated. Check out the video from the meeting below.
At the meeting there were questions about the potential effects of starting elementary school students earlier than current start times. Generally, research shows a later start time has no measurable positive impact on elementary school children, and an earlier start time has no measurable negative impact. Take a look at one research report below that includes a look at this issue (on page 10):
Research shows pre-adolescent students having the same degree of focus at 7 a.m. that adolescent students have at 8 a.m. This suggests that elementary schools may be able to start earlier in the day without negatively affecting student achievement. |