By Babiha Kaur, Digital Editor
As of Wednesday, September 20, River Hill’s start time changed from 8:00 a.m. to 7:50 a.m. The new change was implemented in order to allow buses to transport students to school on time. Although the time was adjusted by only ten minutes, River Hill students are still affected by it.
Before this year, school began at 7:25 a.m. for River Hill students. However, on February 13, 2023, the Howard County Board of Education voted to adjust start times for schools, shifting high schools to begin at 8:00 a.m. The new start time took effect on August 28 and lasted for a few weeks before another change was implemented. In a message written to HCPSS families on September 13, HCPSS superintendent Dr. Martirano explains the reasons why the start time for high schools was shifted back ten minutes: “To build additional time into the student transportation schedule and prioritize getting every student to school on time, I am utilizing this flexibility to shift school start times.” The main reason for this change was to resolve the bus issue, as many buses in the county were unable to transport students to school on time.
When the change was implemented, students were still adjusting to the new timings and rules. Senior Divya Kumar states, “it’s kind of frustrating because we have to learn a new bell schedule right after we got a new one.” Senior Smera Singh remarks, “I think that we had very high hopes coming into this school year thinking that we were going to have extra time to sleep, it was going to be better for our mental health, and we would have a better start time and school schedule. That just doesn’t seem to be the case.”
Previously, many students were unable to arrive to school on time because of late or absent buses. Smera, a bus rider, expresses, “I would come in two minutes before the bell rang, and sometimes I would be late or very close to being late.” Similarly, senior Vyahruthi Anagani believes that the new start time “was necessary because I remember coming into school like five minutes before the bell rang, and that was a whole experience on its own. I understand that the other people in traffic could have [had] struggles, so I think that a newer start time could help in some aspects.”
Although the new start time has helped students arrive to school on time, some believe that they come to school too early. Vyahruthi describes, “I come to school twenty minutes before the bell. None of the classrooms are open and because of the new [rules] you can’t really do anything before school either.” Previously, students often hung out with friends in the media center or saw teachers before school. Smera agrees, commenting, “Because of the policy regarding where we’re supposed to be and our classrooms, I can’t really do anything else besides wait outside my classroom.” Coming to school early does not have any particular advantage, especially because there are limited activities students can do before first period. Divya adds, “Some teachers aren’t available before school, so that makes it harder.” Many students often go to their teachers for extra help before or after school, but are unable to do so even if they arrive to school early.
Overall, students are unsure if the implemented change was the right one. Smera describes, “I do think that there needed to be a change; I am not sure if it should have been ten minutes back or ten minutes after.” For now, it seems that all we can do is wait and see what will happen next.