WSSD is Halfway through Sleep Study Investigation
The focus topic of Monday night’s Wallingford-Swarthmore School District meeting was the district’s continuing exploration of later start times. In her second sleep study presentation, Dr. Denise Citarelli Jones, WSSD director of secondary education, informed the audience of the progress that the sleep study task force has made now that half of the investigation is complete.
She explained that the task force, comprised of around 20 students, parents, and teachers, met for a full day on October 3. That day they discussed a wide range of ideas and explored different schedules types, lunch configurations, and start times for Strath Haven High School ranging from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Thirteen potential schedules have emerged from the session. SHHS faculty has met in small groups to generate feedback about which of these schedules is most viable and then passed their top choices to Dr. Kristopher Brown, principal of the high school.
Dr. Brown analyzed feedback data from faculty as well as the task force and sent his thoughts to the Transportation Department. At this moment no decisions have been made in regards to later start times at SHHS but Dr. Jones has provided a timeline of what has been planned for the next two months. This information and more can be accessed at https://www.wssd.org/domain/908.
A panel discussion was scheduled for November 12, convening students, parents, and staff from neighboring districts where changes in start times have been implemented. This gave the WSSD the opportunity to hear about other experiences through this process. Both Dr. Jones and Dr. Palmer highly encourage any interested community members to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns.
SRS’s Diversity & Inclusion Group Debut
Also on November 12, SRS’s Diversity and Inclusion group had its first meeting at the SRS library. The group discussed ways to ensure that SRS has an environment where all students, families, and staff feel welcome and embraced by the school culture, curriculum, and practices. All community members are encouraged to attend future meetings. Information about date and time will be posted on the district website at wssd.org.
Swarthmore Residents Suggest Going Electric
Bill Foster and Susan Kelly spoke at the WSSD meeting Monday.
Swarthmore residents Susan Kelly and Bill Foster took to the podium to discuss climate change. Ms. Kelly is the chair of the multi-municipal environmental advisory council — a group that meets monthly to discuss environmentally sustainable practices. Her group came up with a resolution to ask the school board to apply for a rebate for electric vehicle charging station purchase. At the meeting, she encouraged school board members to support this resolution and explained it in depth.
Ms. Kelly also mentioned that air quality — which is “not so great” in the community — can contribute to poor health. Mr. Foster described the demonstrated environmental improvements available by switching to electric vehicles, which produce significantly less CO2 than diesel consuming vehicles like the district’s fleet of school buses. Both of these concerned citizens emphasized that during a time of climate emergency, switching to more environmentally safe practices is a step in the right direction for the community.
