You Can't Overcommunicate When Schedule Changes Are Raised

When Eric Conti, superintendent of Burlington, Mass., Public Schools, blogged last October about a proposal for a later school start time for high schoolers, he included a link to a New York Times article on “The Science of Adolescent Sleep.”

Though he figured the research evidence on student well-being would be persuasive, parents quickly voiced concerns on social media and during face-to-face meetings, according to Conti. One parent, clearly unsympathetic to teens’ bio-rhythms, blurted out in an online forum: “If these snowflakes are not getting enough sleep, how are they all getting into college? Maybe if they were not on their devices all night they might get to be on time.”

That was followed by a proponent of a later start time, a mother who posted about her child’s excessive homework load: “I watch my child do homework until 11 most nights and on nights when she has had band rehearsal until 9 p.m., she is sometimes up until 2:00-3:00 in the morning.”

Heated Debates

Conti’s recent experience in his 3,600-student suburban district in northeastern Massachusetts illustrates how debates on time-change proposals for schools play out on social media today. Public comments can be contentious and discussions quickly can become overheated. On school start times, parents of elementary students hold different concerns than those of high school students.

Communication by the district’s top leaders may play a significant role in the policy outcome. Veteran leaders who’ve dealt with the rough-and-tumble state “no one solution will suit everybody.” Still, they shared these tips:

» Acknowledge the tension and the anxiety that schedule changes generate.

» Don’t get personal. Everyone is entitled to an opinion. Allow comments on the district’s Facebook and Twitter sites.

» Educate every stakeholder (students included) about recommendations on teenage sleep by the Centers for Disease Control and the American Academy of Pediatrics.

» Ensure two-way communication — face-to-face discussions, surveys, a superintendent’s blog and other social media.

» Show what options are being discussed and the cost implications.

» Listen carefully and tailor messages to each audience about proposed changes. Staff may want flexibility on deadlines for transferring to another school. Businesses will want a heads-up owing to the impact on parents’ and students’ work schedules. Coaches and athletes will want to know the effect on after-school practices. Parents will face child care issues. Board members will want to know costs and who supports the initiative.

» Be transparent about the decision making. Put survey data on the district website and a calendar that informs people several months in advance.

» Use humor when appropriate. (Parents may struggle to get a teen out of bed and out the door in time, yet parents/teachers find teens are easier to live with when they are rested.)

A Joint Move

Conti found collaboration with fellow superintendents in his region — especially those who are part of the same interscholastic athletics league — was key to the conversation. “We approached delaying the start of high school as a league, not individual districts,” he says.

Conti will ramp up communication again when Burlington’s new schedule, which starts high school 65 minutes later, begins this fall.