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THE RIO AMERICANO MIRADA | FRIDAY • DECEMBER 16, 2011
SCHOOL TO VOTE ON CHANGING START TIME
Divisive new start time to be voted on by faculty members in January for the 2012-2013 school year JARETT HARTMAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF After nearly a year of discussion and campaigning, teachers will take an official vote on whether to start and end school 30 minutes later. The campaign for a later start time has been pushed forward by an action group from a Rio community parent association called STEPS. “Teen sleep is an important health issue, and should be prioritized like nutrition and exercise,” a pamphlet released by STEPS reads. “Most American high school students aren’t getting enough sleep. Over a decade of respected scientific research...has concluded that shifting a high school’s start time from 30 to 60 minutes later yields measurable benefits to students’ psychological and physical health, safety, and academic achievement.” Since last February, the group has presented research to faculty, hosted informational forums, and worked with District and union representatives to come up with a new start time. Research has shown that shifts in school start times later in the day have decreased depression and exhaustion caused by sleep deprivation, decreased tardiness and improved overall school attendance, and even had positive effects on students’ academic performances. After finding out that all busing except for Special Education busing was being cut, STEPS organized a meeting with principal Brian Ginter last winter. They then went to San Juan Unified School District to find out what the process would be in
order change the start time district wide. However, after meetings with SJUSD, district representatives recommended that the movement focus itself as a pilot program specific to Rio. “We started much broader, a whole district change, but they said it would be easier to start at a singular school site,” Wake said. “They seem to like bottom-up movements better at the district.” With a clearer mission in mind, STEPS began to focus on garnering support for a pilot program central to Rio. Since the beginning of the school year, they have worked on gathering data from the Rio community, putting on two informational forums for people to voice their opinions, present research, and ask any questions they may have concerning the later start time. Using survey data from the Mirada last March and input from students, parents, and teachers, STEPS has worked on organizing a start time which would be beneficial to the entire community. STEPS presented research at faculty meetings in early November, and they have created a Frequently Asked Questions pamphlet and a questionnaire for students and parents. “The teachers that I have been in touch with seem to generally support the movement,” STEPS member Sue Gylling said. “They’ve been very welcoming of any additional information that we present.” According to a strawpoll conducted earlier this month, a most teachers were in favor of moving
Should school start at 8:20 and end at 3:20? The Mirada polled 170 students asking whether school should start later, understanding that school would also end later. Students opinions were split.
5%
Yes
42%
No No opinion
53%
infograph by john sockolov/news editor
the school start time later. “Research shows that it would be beneficial to students,” AVID and English teacher Jolynn Mason said. However, students have not been as receptive as other members of the Rio community. According to a Mirada survey of 170 students conducted Monday, 53 percent of students were opposed to starting the start time later. The survey sampled two classes each of freshmen,
sophomores and juniors. “I would prefer the schedule just to stay the same as it is now,” junior Derek Popple said. “We’re in school for the same amount of time, and I would have less time to do my work after school with the new later start time.” Another concern of most parents and students is how the new time will affect athletics. Many athletes have commented on the issue, saying that the later end time
for school would push practices too far back, negatively affecting the performance of teams with sports starting after school. It may also cause athletes to miss more afternoon classes to attend games, critics say. Despite the survey results, STEPS says that data has been “extremely helpful,” and that it’s “been in line with most of the national surveys” conducted with schools before changing start times. “We’ve been talking about this for almost an entire calendar year. And it’s all over except for the voting. Teachers have received the research, and they’ll take a vote on the issue in mid-January.” Any change in the school day start or end time greater than five minutes must be negotiated by the district and the San Juan Teachers Association. The union has said it would negotiate the issue for Rio teachers if a “super majority” supported the change and that it expects the district to agree to the change. Provided the new start time is passed next month, the 30 minute shift in the school day would be implemented next year.
VISIT US ONLINE Read more information regarding start times, including previous reports from The Mirada at www.riomirada.com
Rio Voice: Should school begin and end 30 minutes later in the day? Damon Pgtree, 9
My opinion is that school should start later because some people have trouble waking up or getting to school. So we should have a later start time, and people should also get more sleep so they don’t fall asleep in class.
Matt Sanford, 9
My opinion on the school time starting later is a definite yes. I ride my bike to school every morning and I’m always late. I think most people would like waking up later.
SEXTING LESS COMMON BRIGITTE NOVAK MIRADA STAFF Sexting isn’t actually widespread, according to a study released by the journal Pediatrics on Dec 5. The authors, researchers from the Crimes against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, report that 1% of minors report creating or appearing in explicit images and only 5.9% report receiving such images. The study was based on 1,560 telephone interviews with children and has a margin of error of 2.5%. The numbers for what can be considered sexually suggestive aren’t high either at 9.6%. It was previously reported that upwards of 20% of teens were sexting. The researchers blame “widely cited, but flawed, studies claiming to show as many as 1 in 5 youth ‘involved in sexting’” for these misconceptions. They acknowledged not everyone who sexts would have reported
it. The study also only included English-speaking regular Internet users and did not consider written content through text messages. Even so, the most recent studies are more precise. Previous studies questioned youth about materials that would be “no more revealing than what someone might see at a beach,” according to the researchers. The authors still believe that despite only a few minors participating, sexting is still an issue and could result in criminal charges against minors. According to a different study made on Dec 5 by the University of New Hampshire, U.S. law enforcement agencies were involved in 3,477 cases of sexual images produced by minors in 2008 and 2009. However, one third of these cases involved experimental conduct such as minors in romantic relationships. Another 31% involved sharing images without consent, blackmail, or sexual abusing a young minor.
Shiloh Yonker, 11
School starting later? I don’t really care either way. I’m sure most people would like to catch a few more Z’s in the morning.
Jessica Jorqez 10
I think that the start time should stay the same. The reason why is because it affects people’s schedule and sports time. Other people have things to do later in the day and have siblings that start at 8:30, so it wouldn’t really work out.
Darren Miller, teacher
I don’t oppose it in principle but this school would be acting alone. Parents have kids at other schools and it would interfere with their ability to transfer their kids between schools.
STUDENTS GIVE A HELPING HAND
photo courtesy of heather peterson
Senior Tony Sison feeds a Christmas tree cookie to a child during the Hand In Hand gift presentation. The Hand In Hand program was started 11 years ago by a group of elementary school boys from the Sacramento area. Working with local organization Neighborworks, the program has grown into a close association between Rio Americano and Jesuit students who raise money to buy gifts for families who cannot afford presents during the Christmas season. Over two months, a group of 30 students helped raise almost eight thousand dollars and buy gifts for 215 children, a record for the program.