This school has used the same late start strategy for years. Students have utilized this time to catch up on assignments while staff members have professional development time which is a time when department chairs can talk to their staff members. But while late starts allow Gold Wednesday’s school start time to be pushed back to 8:30 a.m., there are several flaws with this late start strategy. It’s time for administrators to consider a modified late start option to help better accommodate both students and staff.

First, since the time difference between regular days and late start days is only 40 minutes, this does not leave much room for students to accomplish any task before the school day. Moreover, bus riders, who do not have another mode of transportation to get to school, arrive at school at the regular time and try to fill the relatively short 40 minutes with other activities. Unfortunately, 40 minutes isn’t enough time to dive deeply into meaningful work. Second, teachers would also benefit from a longer but less frequent professional development time. As with students, 40 minutes isn’t enough time to dive deeply into meaningful work and discussion. A longer block of time would allow teachers to get more in-depth in their professional development activities. Less frequent meetings would also allow for more time for teachers to gather important research and materials for their upcoming meetings.

Finally, Gold Wednesdays often occur sporadically; they can occur back-to-back during some months while other months see them only once. Creating a more structured approach to the schedule will help keep both students and staff more organized, as they anticipate and are able to plan ahead for a longer, monthly, late start better than the 40-minute sessions occurring every Gold Wednesday.

Therefore, to help better accommodate the needs of all students, the school should consider transitioning to a two-hour late start schedule once per month. This modified late start option will not only give students sufficient work time while at the school but create opportunities for more in-depth teacher planning time as well. Additionally, it would eliminate scheduling confusion and contribute to better organization overall.