Later Start for SLHS on Wednesdays?

South Lakes High School is considering a later start time on Wednesdays in order to give teachers collaborative planning time.

Assistant principal Chad Lehman outlined the proposal to parents at the school's PTSA meeting on Tuesday. He says a survey of of South Lakes teachers said they were satisfied with the amount of time they had to work with fellow teachers - however, that number is below the FCPS average.

Lehman said that finding more time for professional learning community groups to share best instructional practices has been a challenge and that the administration has been looking for more time for groups to work together on a regular basis throughout the year.

Principal Bruce Butler, who is retiring in June, says SLHS' Instructional Leadership team (department chairs and administrators) will make the final decision.

"The potential change will provide additional time for our curriculum teams to address the complex work of  organizing the instructional program/assessments/ intervention for their subjects," Butler said in an email to Patch.

School currently begins at 7:20 a.m. Under the proposal, teachers would have planning time on Wednesdays from 7:05 a.m. to 8 a.m. Classes would begin at 8:05 a.m.

But that doesn't mean students will get an exta hour to sleep. Buses will still run at the same time, and students would likely be in the common area or in study groups. Dismissal time would remain at 2:10 p.m.

Nearby schools Chantilly, Oakton and Thomas Jefferson already have a late start day in their schedule, Lehman said. 

The proposal has been met with positive reaction from school team leaders and staff.  PTSA president Susan Sather said parents at the meeting were strongly in favor of the initiative.

Sather said the new principal will have some say on this, but it is very likely to be implemented for next year.