November 11, 2022
Your feedback is requested regarding potential changes to school start and end times for the 2023-2024 school year in order to improve students’ health and well-being through better sleep. Please read the message and see the links below for more information. To go directly to the ThoughtExchange site to share your feedback, please click on this link: https://tejoin.com/scroll/808696397. Note: Older students will be invited to participate in the exchange through a separate communication.
Dear Shrewsbury Public Schools Families & Staff Members,
Our school district has convened a Sleep Health Advisory Committee to consider how to improve students’ health and well-being through better sleep, including the potential of changing school start and end times for the 2023-2024 school year.
On Wednesday evening, the Research Task Group presented a report to the School Committee that summarized the research on sleep health for children and adolescents and shared best practices for schools (you are encouraged to view their presentation slides here, read their full report here, and watch their presentation here).
On December 14, the Sleep Health Advisory Committee will be presenting potential options for changes in school schedules to the School Committee. To help inform this process, you are invited to share your general perspectives and questions related to students’ sleep health and the potential benefits and challenges of changing school start and end times.
We are utilizing ThoughtExchange to fully capture the perspectives and priorities of all involved, while seeking to understand what respondents believe is most important to consider when making these important decisions. Please click on the link below to participate:
https://tejoin.com/scroll/808696397
Please share your thinking and then rate at least 20-30 of the thoughts that others have shared (from most important to least important). Your participation is confidential, so no one will know who shared or rated which thoughts. We encourage you to return to ThoughtExchange as often as possible through November 17th to rate the most recent ideas and suggestions.
Thank you for providing your voice to inform this important process!
Respectfully,
The Sleep Health Advisory Committee Stakeholder Feedback Task Group
(Sarah Anane, SHS student; Hallie Burak, Principal, Oak Middle School; Jane Lizotte, Assistant Superintendent for Community Partnerships & Well-Being; and Adnan Malik, SPS Parent)