What time does high school start in Rochester MN?

ROCHESTER, Minn. (KTTC) – On Tuesday, the Rochester Public Schools (RPS) Superintendent, Kent Pekel, proposed district-wide start time changes move up 10 minutes.

Current start times:

• 8:20 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. High Schools
• 8:20 a.m. -3:00 p.m. Middle Schools
• 9:35 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Elementary Schools

New start times:

• 8:10 a.m. - 3:20 p.m. High Schools
• 8:10 a.m. - 2:50 p.m. Middle Schools
• 9:25 a.m. - 3:50 p.m. Elementary Schools

“My recommendation would be for next year that we move the system earlier by 10 minutes as a step in that direction to get some of our youngest learners a bit closer to that prime learning time, without sacrificing the benefits of some later start times for our secondary students,” Pekel said.

RPS received 9,499 survey responses from parents, students and staff regarding the following proposed start time changes:

• 8:00 a.m. - 2:20 p.m. Elementary students
• 9:15 a.m. - 3:53 p.m. Middle Schools
• 9:15 a.m. - 4:12 High Schools

Previous feedback from staff and parents contributed to that proposed time.

“Middle school and high school students have really benefited from the later start time. However, elementary school students have lost some prime learning time where they are most alert and most engaged,” said Pekel in April.

The district said proposed start time changes would cost the district $907,284 for transportation costs.

Here are some data from the survey responses:

• 40% of parent surveyors supported the change. 53% opposed.
• 54% of staff surveyors supported the change. 41% opposed.
• 56% of elementary surveyors supported the change. 28% opposed.
• 11% of secondary surveyors supported the change. 82% opposed.

The school board plans to revisit the possibility of start times again during the next school year.

“When you talk about this it’s critical to remind people that we have entirely redrawn the map of the district for next year, during this period. So if people say, ‘what a minute? Why are they continuing this? Can’t they just make a decision?’ We have completely changed the transportation system during this time period,” Pekel said.

The school board supported Pekel’s decision.

“I think it’s a good stop-gap of what we’re currently doing and what potentially might be better. And we really do need at least another year to explore all of those kinds of options,” said Julie Workman, RPS board member.

RELATED STORY: RPS discusses school start time changes

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(ABC 6 News) – Rochester Public School students will soon be starting school 10 minutes earlier than they did in the 2021-2022 school year.

"My recommendation would be for next year that we move the system earlier by ten minutes a step in that direction to get some of our youngest learners a bit closer to that prime learning time without sacrificing the benefits of some later start times for secondary students," advised Kent Pekel, the Superintendent of Rochester Public Schools.

Currently, the middle and high schools begin at 8:20 a.m. and run until 3 and 3:30 p.m., respectively. Elementary schools run 9:35 a.m. to 4 p.m.

In fall 2022, the middle and high schools will begin at 8:10 and end at 2:50 and 3:20 p.m., respectively. Elementary schools will begin at 9:25 a.m. and end at 3:50 p.m.

The board conducted surveys of students, parents, and staff to gather opinions on the shifts in start times.

Fifty-six percent of elementary students and 54% of staff support the change in start times.

On the other hand, 11% of secondary students and 40% of parents of students opposed the start times, with the secondary students strongly opposing the transition.

When parents were asked to consider if the shift in start time would make their children more alert, 32% said they strongly disagree that their child would be more alert and 28% strongly disagreed. Fourteen percent said that they disagree their children would be more alert, 14% agree and 11% neither agree nor disagree.

When the cost of the proposed start time shift was factored in, the shift in start times was estimated to increase the transportation budget an $324,030. The five new Rochester Public Schools routes and the potential additional costs of transporting children had already caused an estimated $453,642 increase in the budget.

In May, Austin Public Schools unanimously approved revised start times for the 2022-2023 school year.

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