Free State High School sophomore Justin Bloom plans to capitalize on the first late-start day of the year by squeezing in some extra studying.

“There’s not much else to do at 9 in the morning,” he said.

Free State High School students gather in the school's commons area before classes. This Wednesday, both FSHS and Lawrence High School will have their first late-start to allow professional development time for faculty members.

But a large number of Bloom’s peers will devote themselves to another activity that fits into the Lawrence school district’s plan to start high school classes 90 minutes later than normal on Wednesday, and on six other days during the 2002-2003 school year while the faculty works on professional development.

Free State sophomores Aaron Williams and Amanda Sloan, juniors Cassandra Kennedy and Taryn Steward, and seniors Mark Goble and Kay Nique will be you guessed it hitting the snooze button a second or third, maybe fourth, time that day.

“More than likely I’ll be sleeping in,” said Goble, who planned to attend the Dave Matthews Band concert tonight and could use the extra shut-eye.

Lawrence High School, Lawrence Alternative High School and Free State buildings will open at the regular time for students who have no choice but to hang out at school until classes begin. Bus routes will run regular schedules.

Students arriving early will have access to commons areas and libraries, which contain computer laboratories.

LHS Principal Dick Patterson didn’t expect to see a majority of students in the building until after teachers finished their professional-development program at 9:30 a.m.

“I think most of them will probably stay home,” Patterson said.

Free State Principal Joe Snyder said the late-start days approved by the Lawrence school board in March were about more than promoting a well-rested student body.

“All this is aimed at becoming more focused on what we need to improve and making certain that focus is translated into instruction and classrooms,” he said.

At Free State, the faculty will delve into creating a united front in terms of writing instruction. The same fundamentals of writing aren’t being taught consistently across disciplines, Snyder said.

He said other targeted areas will be reading instruction, problem solving and technology training.

Patterson said faculty at LHS would select from among five study seminars. They range from training in the use of personal computers for class work to examining research on classroom management.

Another session at LHS will allow teachers to discuss ways to help students set responsible academic and career goals. It’s a program originally developed for Kansas University athletes.

Program eases scheduling

The late-start program was recommended by high school principals because it was impossible to schedule a meeting that all faculty could attend around before- and after-school activities.

State and national accreditation agencies have urged the district’s high schools to actively involve all teachers in the school-improvement process.

Supt. Randy Weseman said faculty would focus on working to meet broad goals for improving the academic climate for all students. That makes it different from collaboration time at the elementary schools and junior high schools, in which teachers meet as a group to help address individual student needs.

Since 1998, local elementary and junior high students have been released 90 minutes early every Wednesday for the teacher meetings.

“It’s not collaboration time,” he said. “It’s not time for teachers to talk about specific kids.”

He said the Shawnee Mission and Blue Valley districts turned to the late-start concept years ago.

The high schools in Lawrence have been meeting five minutes earlier each day this school year to make up for time that will be lost to the program.

Of course, all the talk of academic advantages is lost on students who simply welcome the opportunity to arrive at school at mid-morning.

“I don’t care what they use it for,” said LHS senior Con Walsh. “It’s a good idea.”

LHS senior Patrick Roberts said food not scholarly pursuits would be on his mind each of the late-start days in September, October, November, January, February, April and May.

“I think I’ll go to Paradise and get a big breakfast.”