WAKEFIELD — Administrators are collecting input as they seek to present a plan to the School Committee about starting classes later. A community forum is scheduled for Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. at the Galvin Middle School.
Following is a message sent last week to families by Superintendent of Schools Doug Lyons and his administrative team:
I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays and the break. I am reaching out to update you on the topic of later school start times. For some context, in 2016, Middlesex League Superintendents signed a joint letter urging their communities to commit to 8:00 AM or later start times for their high schools by the 2018-2019 school year to be in line with sleep recommendations made for teenagers. Since then, 10 out of the 12 districts in the league have met this commitment. Since last year, the School Committee and Administration have been researching the benefits of later school start times for teenagers and learning more about the process other districts have followed to lead this change.
At this time, we are using community forums to hear from stakeholders to then present a recommendation to the School Committee about a possible change in school start times. There will be no changes to school start times for the 2025-2026 school year. If changes are made, we anticipate them being implemented in the 2026-2027 school year at the earliest.
On November 20th, we held a forum focused on the science of sleep and school start times with Dr. Judith Owens.
The next community forum has already been advertised on social media and will take place on January 16th at 7:00 PM at the Galvin Middle School Auditorium. We have invited all of our Principals and the School Committee. At this meeting we will outline what we know so far, what we need to do for additional work/feedback gathering and dedicate time to questions and answers. Please join us in person or (attend remotely via Zoom) for the webinar. You may also submit questions that you have regarding later start times for schools (via a form found online).
The third community forum will take place on February 5th at 7:00 PM at the Galvin Middle School Auditorium. We have invited our Athletic Director, Michael Murphy, Director of Visual and Performing Arts, Tom Bankert, Wakefield Academy Director, Estelle Burdick, Wakefield Recreation Director Dan McGrath and a representative from the Boys and Girls Club. This forum will focus on the impacts to extracurricular programs, athletics and after school programs. We will also dedicate time to questions and answers.
We hope that you will be able to join us either virtually or in person at the forums. We are collaborating with WCAT to record the sessions so they are accessible to all during and after the events. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have additional questions or concerns.
Thank you.
