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By Mila Lira
Students at the Superior Junior-Senior High School will have to get up a little bit earlier this school year if proposed changes to the schedule are approved by the governing board.
Parents of Superior Junior-Senior High School students attended an informational meeting about the proposed changes to the start time at the school. Administrators are proposing a start time of 7:30 a.m., which is a half hour earlier from previous years.
Principal Billy Duarte explained to parents that the earlier start time will allow for the school to offer intervention time during the school day to help students with core subjects they are struggling with. Duarte provided many statistics to parents on the importance of readying students for college and not just the workforce. He explained that by 2018 it is expected that only 38 percent of jobs available will not require a college degree. Duarte further explained that state funding is tied to several federal mandates which require the schools to offer the intervention to ensure that test scores continue to rise.
If those scores are not met by districts the state can be forced to take over a school.
Superintendent Pete Guzman explained that Superior is actually ahead of most districts in implementing the core standards and intervention programs. The earlier start time will also keep students from missing instruction time when they leave for extracurricular activities. School bus routes will be changed to pick up Junior and Senior High students beginning at 6:30 a.m. provided the changes are adopted by the Superior School Board.
Overall parents in the audience expressed some concerns about safety at bus stops in the early morning hours, but there was no major outcry opposing the proposed changes. The Superior School Board is expected to vote on the changes this Wednesday, July 11, during its monthly board meeting at the Kennedy Elementary School
Parents with questions regarding the proposed changes are encouraged to call the Junior-Senior High at 520-689-3100.
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