A School Time Change for Waukee

There has been a new change for the Waukee district that is being implemented for the upcoming school year. Instead of the normal 8:10 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. time, now school will start at 7:50 a.m. and end at 2:50 p.m. This means that school will begin 20 minutes earlier and end 20 minutes earlier than this year. Lots of different people will be affected by this new change like staff, students, and coaches. Also, practice times, staff meetings, and child care will be affected. Staff and administrators made these changes for several reasons, let’s get into why.

The first reason is that with this change, the buses will have an additional 10 minutes to go from the elementary schools to the high schools. What I mean by this is the buses have to pick up and drop off the elementary kids and then immediately get the high school students to take them to school. While they normally have enough time to accomplish both, an extra 10 minutes gives them more room to be on schedule and not have to rush as much to get the high schoolers. 

The next reason also deals with the buses. The 9th-grade building will now start at 7:40 a.m. and end at 2:40 p.m. So this change allows shared transportation between the high school and the 9th grade building. They can combine the bus routes and be able to have more effectiveness within the transportation system. Right now, Timberline and the High School can’t have the same bus routes because their start and end times are too different. This change won’t affect many students but will make it easier and more efficient for the bus drivers.

Another reason they are making this change is because staff and schools have been supporting the idea of grade levels starting and ending closer to the same time. Now we are closer to making that a possibility. The final reason is the transitional kindergarten program. For this to work the schools need to be able to shuttle throughout their neighborhood and the TK site. So the start times being closer together helps this be achievable. 

The problem with this change is that some students are not reacting well. Students already have to wake up anywhere from 5:30 am to 7:20 am to get to school on time, and now even earlier. Some students have lifting or club meetings before school and are up late at night because of homework, sports, clubs, and other reasons. While this change is only 20 minutes, some students are already exhausted as it is now. One student, sophomore Raegan Gozalka said, “I’m not a fan of this change because I work better at school when I get more sleep and I’m usually up doing homework late at night. Now I will have to wake up earlier and that could stop me from doing as well in school.” Another student, sophomore Kate Politzer agrees with Raegan and said, “I don’t like this time change. I already have to wake up earlier than I would like and making school start even earlier will only make it worse.”

However, some students are on board with this new change because it could help with bus efficiency and be more helpful to siblings close in age, or parents picking up their children. Also, this does give students more time after school, with the effect of waking up earlier. Sophomore Liam Andrews said, “I feel like it’s a good decision because it allows students to get out of school earlier in the day, allowing them to have more time to do things outside of school. School starting 20 minutes earlier isn’t that bad because we used to do it at Timberline and I think it’s good for students to have more time after school.” Some students would rather get to sleep in than have extra time after school. However, this change could come with good benefits and bring the district closer to several goals. 

Graphic by Tori Bohnenkamp using Canva