Change to McKinney ISD School Start Times

McKINNEY, Texas – Financial constraints impacting Texas school districts, as well as implications of the district’s new UIL realignment, have forced the district to reevaluate current school start and end times. 
McKINNEY, Texas – Financial constraints impacting Texas school districts, as well as implications of the district’s new UIL realignment, have forced the district to reevaluate current school start and end times. Several issues prompted the district to analyze changes to the school schedules. The recent UIL realignment requires McKinney ISD high schools to travel farther, and in many cases, begin UIL competitions earlier than in previous years. Under the current high school schedule, a significant amount of instructional time would be lost next year due to student’s obligations to leave early to participate in UIL competitions. The majority of high school students are involved in athletics, fine arts, or another UIL sanctioned activity. In addition, a greater number of substitutes versus certified teachers would be delivering instruction due to teachers/coaches leaving early to attend competitions. Other districts in the area, including Garland ISD and Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD, have adopted similar start times.
 
Secondly, McKinney ISD has one of the latest elementary school start times in the area (8:45 a.m.). Several years ago, the district created a morning care program (within Club 360) to provide supervision to elementary students arriving early. In many cases, elementary students arrive between 7:00 a.m. and 7:30 a.m., although they are not engaged in instruction until 8:45 a.m. Furthermore, they are expected to be attentive and engaged until 3:45 p.m. Moving the elementary start time earlier is expected to have a positive academic impact on elementary students. In addition, the change will enable the district to eliminate morning care, which currently drains $140,000 annually from the budget. Teachers would assume the responsibility of additional morning duties, which is consistent with the practice of most districts.
 
The proposition of minimizing the amount of lost instructional time, coupled with the academic and financial benefits of moving elementary start times earlier, led the district to analyze possible alternatives to the current schedules. Principals and administrators evaluated the impact that various models would have on their respective grade levels. After obtaining feedback from principals and key administrators the following schedule was developed to fulfill as many of the district and campus goals as possible.   
 
Current Schedule
Middle School                7:45-3:00
Elementary School       8:45-3:45
High School                   9:15-4:20
 
2010-2011 Schedule
High School                   7:30-2:30
Elementary School       8:00-3:00
Middle School                8:45-3:45
 
  
“McKinney ISD principals and administrators fully recognize and acknowledge that adjusting to an earlier start time could be a challenge for some high school students,” said Cody Cunningham, Assistant to the Superintendent for Communications. “This concern and others were considered and weighed during the analysis of options. However, the adjustment to the new start time is not expected to be nearly as detrimental to high school students as a schedule that would have required the majority of high school students to miss extended periods of instruction in core content courses.”
 
In addition, McKinney ISD principals cited the following benefits of the new school start times. 
 
Benefits

  • Minimizes the amount of lost instructional time.
  • Provides additional after school tutoring opportunities for students, in particular, at the high school level. 
  • Maximizes the number of highly qualified teachers delivering instruction versus substitute teachers.
  • Provides additional opportunities for high school students to enroll in dual-credit courses.
  • Provides more effective school start time for elementary students.
  • Enables the district to collapse the 3-tiered bell schedule by 15 minutes between elementary and middle school start times.
  • Helps families with high school students responsible for supervising younger siblings after school.
  • Provides additional and more meaningful employment and internship opportunities for high school students after school (work-study programs could begin as early as 12:30 p.m.).
  • Continues to provide credit enhancement (8th period versus zero hour).
  • Eliminates need for elementary morning care, reducing expenditures by $140,000.
While it is impossible to create a plan that accommodates everyone, given the current constraints of the district, the new schedule addresses the primary academic and financial concerns prompting the change. While many parents will be delighted with the new schedule, the district understands that other parents will be disappointed. Implications for all grade levels had to be taken into consideration, both positive and negative, and ultimately led to the development of the new schedule. 
 
For additional information about the McKinney Independent School District, contact Cody Cunningham, Assistant to the Superintendent for Communications at cocunningham@mckinneyisd.net or Justin Acker, Communications Specialist, at jacker@mckinneyisd.net. Both can be reached by phone at 469-742-4095.