Lawrence USD 497 school board

The Lawrence school board on Monday will hear a report on a potential survey meant to generate feedback on school start times.

Collecting input on prospective changes to school start times, school day schedules and school calendars was one of several subgoals (under a broader goal of enhancing programming and support systems to meet student needs) adopted by the school board as part of the 2016-2017 school year.

Jerri Kemble, assistant superintendent of innovation and technology, said the district began looking into the issue last fall. Conversations at school board meetings, however, have been largely dormant in the months since.

Kemble said the idea of a prospective survey is still in very early talks, and that Monday’s meeting will include data from a survey conducted in Seattle with parents, community members and school staff.

“We don’t have a recommendation,” she said. “We’re just looking for direction.”

Of the district’s 20 schools, 13 start their days at either 8 a.m. or 8:05 a.m. The remaining schools, with the exception of Sunset Hill Elementary’s 8:15 a.m. start time, begin classes at 8:45 a.m.

Although there aren’t any proposed changes to start times in the pipeline, Kemble said the district would first want to collect information on how any modifications might affect family dynamics. This could include everything from child care, extracurricular schedules (sports being one example), bus routes and parents’ work schedules, she said.

In the meantime, Kemble and her colleagues are emphasizing that any potential changes would not occur anytime soon. The first step, she said, would be a survey to collect feedback from parents, staff and students. Monday’s meeting would simply reintroduce the survey conversation with school board members.

“I think we’re in the very early stages of discussion, because this would not happen for the next school year,” said Terry McEwen, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and assessment. “This is not something we’re looking at for 2017-2018. It would be 2018-2019 at the earliest. We are in the investigation phase.”

In other business, the board will:

• Hear an update on the district’s work toward the school board’s 2016-2017 equity goals. The report will include information on the District Equity Leadership Team Advisory and Equity Advisory Council groups, as well as plans for continuing equity work in the 2017-2018 school year. Leah Wisdom, assistant director of student services, and Anna Stubblefield, assistant superintendent of educational support and equity, will present the report.

• Hear a legislative update from Kathy Johnson, the district’s director of finance. The report will provide an update on legislative action, finance framework provisions and Kansas State Department of Education estimates of funding impacts on the Lawrence school district.

The school board will meet at 7 p.m. Monday at the district offices, 110 McDonald Drive.