St. Charles D303 changes school start and release times

St. Charles School District 303 is implementing new start and end times for students across all grade levels in the 2024-25 school year.

The most notable changes are at the elementary schools, which will start at 9:05 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m., and the high schools, which will start at 7:15 a.m. and end at 2:15 p.m.

Before the school board’s Jan. 8 meeting, four parents in the district spoke out with concerns about the new schedules and the financial burden they will cause families that will have to pay for before- and after-school care.

Many residents also expressed disappointment with the district for not informing the community about the changes or asking for feedback.

Residents received this message from Superintendent Paul Gordon just hours before the meeting:

The following schedule has been approved by district administration and will take effect in the fall:

• Early childhood care: 8:20 to 10:50 a.m. or 11:50 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.

• Elementary school: 9:05 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.

• Middle school: 7:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m.

• High school: 7:15 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.

Brittany and Shaylon Walker are educators and parents of students in District 303. Both raised concerns as to how the new start times will affect their children’s routines and put a financial burden on their family and many others.

The Walkers said a 9 a.m. start time for a 9-year-old is not ideal or typical and will be very difficult for their family and others. They said they will have to pay for additional child care before and after school while they are at work.

St. Charles resident and District 303 parent Jillian Walter said she finds the changes outrageous and expressed her disappointment with the district for not requesting community feedback before implementing the time changes.

“I am really upset about these new hours,” Walter said. “Many families including my own will now need to pay for before- and after-school care. I might as well not even work, to be honest. It’s absolutely ridiculous.”

Walter said she pays $270 a month for each of her two children to attend after-school care and fears that price will double if they attend both before- and after-school care, thus forcing her to pay more than $1,000 a month because of the change.

The new schedule also listed the earliest drop-off times for each grade level. For elementary and high school students, they can be dropped off up to 15 minutes before their start times without having to attend the before-school program.

There also will be some early dismissal days when students will get out 50 minutes earlier than normal. Elementary school students will have early dismissal on the last Wednesday of each month. Middle school and high school students will have early dismissal every Wednesday.

Gordon started the discussion by assuring those in attendance that before-school and after-school care will be made available at every district elementary school.

He also acknowledged the frustration of parents.

“I recognize that this is not the schedule change that everybody would want. I absolutely recognize that,” Gordon said. “I believe this is that schedule that works for transportation and what we need to accomplish.”

Gordon said the before- and after-care programs will have a sliding scale for families that qualify for free and reduced lunch, meaning the cost will vary based on families’ income.

Gordon said the change in schedules ultimately came down to the timing of bus routes. He said the biggest problem with the previous schedule was that hundreds of middle school students had to wait outside for 20 to 30 minutes after school every day for the bus. That required educators to be outside monitoring them and frequently caused problems between students.

“It was incredibly clear what a disservice we were doing for all those students who were waiting after school,” Gordon said. “That was a poor decision back then to do it in that manner because there were so many situations occurring amongst kids and teachers and it was not a healthy situation.”

Under the new schedule, bus drivers will have 35 minutes between routes to get back to the next grade level.

Board member Becky McCabe said she would like to see a later start time for the high schools after hearing several complaints from families in the district.

“I’m not happy with this,” McCabe said. “The impact this will have on the middle schoolers is probably not as significant as the impact it will have on families.”