sailor.mnsun.com
Times
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1
schools both begin at 9:15
a.m. and end at 3:45 p.m.
while Susan Lindgren El-
ementary begins and ends
5 minutes later each day.
The project team did
not provide exact times
for the four options but
grouped the schools into
tiers in each choice.
Square option
An option identifi ed by
a square would have two
tiers. Each of the elemen-
tary schools would have
earlier starts while the
second tier would include
the middle school and
high school.
“We’ve got all of our
elementary kids together,
and all of our second-
ary kids together,” said
Sara Thompson, director
of communications and
community relations, at
a Feb. 11 school board
meeting. “(Bus) routes
are less affected by delays
in previous tiers because
we only have two, and we
have a big chunk of time
in the middle.”
However, pairing PSI
students with other el-
ementary school students
could cause the length of
the rides to increase.
“If we route (buses)
that way, where they go to
all four, it’s a long ride,”
Thompson said.
If buses pick up students
based on a north-south
split or east-west divide,
challenges with transfer-
ring students could arise.
St. Louis Park
Superintendent
Astein
Osei said district leaders
ruled out the idea of re-
quiring students to switch
buses mid-route.
Circle option
The option identifi ed
by a circle would place
the traditional elemen-
tary schools in the fi rst
tier. PSI and the middle
school would be in the
middle while the high
school would be in a later
third tier.
Because PSI will move
to Cedar Manor Com-
munity Center next year,
on the west side of St.
Louis Park, the immer-
sion school will be rela-
tively close to the middle
school, Thompson noted.
“That creates some effi -
ciencies as we drive around
the Park,” she said.
The option would bet-
ter accommodate middle
school students who par-
ticipate in high school
athletics, but having the
high school in the third
tier could mean high
school athletes could lose
more educational time
when they need to travel
to competitions outside
the district. PSI students
whose buses would stop
at the middle school be-
fore reaching their school
could face long rides.
Triangle option
With an option iden-
tifi ed by a triangle, all
the elementary schools
would start earliest, in
the fi rst tier. The high
school would be in the
second tier and the mid-
dle school would be in
the third, latest tier.
With all the elemen-
tary schools together in
the fi rst tier, more buses
would be available later
on for athletic prac-
tices and competition,
Thompson said. The
high school times would
stay relatively similar to
the current times. Chal-
lenges include more dif-
fi culties in transferring
middle school athletes
to high school activi-
ties and potentially long
bus rides for elementary
school children.
Diamond option
Finally, an option iden-
tifi ed by a diamond would
group Aquila, Peter Ho-
bart and Susan Lindgren
elementary schools in the
fi rst, early-starting tier.
PSI and the high school
would be in the second
tier. The middle school
would have the latest
start, in the third tier.
PSI and high school
students likely would
ride together, as they do
currently, and could con-
tinue to have long rides.
The times would change
considerably for every
school except for the high
school. The option could
also impact middle school
athletes.
Due to the early nature
of the recommendations,
the district had not devel-
oped budget estimates for
the options.
A Twitter Town Hall
on the options is planned
7-8:30 p.m. Thursday,
Feb. 28. Twitter users can
offer feedback and ask
questions by using the
hashtag #SLPStartTimes.
When Boardmember
Ken Morrison asked
about the possibility of
keeping the schedules the
same as they currently are,
Thompson said of the
project team, “They felt
that there needed to be a
change in St. Louis Park.”
In particular, some
people believe the middle
school begins too early,
and some stakeholders
believe the elementary
schools begin too late.
After gathering feed-
back on the options, the
team and district staff
members plan to present
a recommendation to the
school board in March.
The board could make
a decision in March or
April, but Thompson said
earlier is better.
“We have 5,000-plus
students to make a plan
for to move around the
district by August, so
there’s a little bit of work
to be done,” she said.
Gathering feedback
Earlier this year, meet-
ings on the schedules in-
cluded six student groups,
seven staff groups, seven
parent groups and two
public meetings.
“Across the board,
people want us to pay
attention to research,”
Thompson said.
Elementary
school
children wanted to start
later and get out of
school earlier, but they
also acknowledged real-
ity, according to Thomp-
son.
“They also were very
wise, even in their young
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019 • Page 9
years, to say, ‘It’s re-
ally important that this
works for my family,’”
she said.
Parents of elementary-
age students had con-
cerns about busing. PSI
students currently ride
the bus with high school
students, and some of
their parents raised con-
cerns about that as well
as the idea of riding the
bus with middle school
students.
Teachers at elementary
schools advised planners
to consider the impacts
on children fi rst rather
than the budget. Some
teachers
recommend-
ed that the elementary
schools start fi rst.
“Academic
research
tells us that younger
students are awake and
they’re ready to go, and
elementary teachers echo
that statement,” Thomp-
son said.
However, Boardmem-
ber Jim Beneke noted
that one statistic in the
district research found
that 43 percent of el-
ementary school parents
in the district do not
want to start earlier.
For their part, students
at the middle school ex-
pressed a belief that el-
ementary schools should
start earlier than the
middle school.
“They believe that the
7:33 (a.m.) time is far too
early, and they would like
us to also think about
the full student day,”
Thompson said.
However, many staff
members at the middle
school like the early
staff time, Thompson
said. Middle school staff
members and parents
advocated for continued
busing for students who
stay after school to meet
with teachers or partici-
pate in activities.
Most high school stu-
dents who share com-
ments did not object to
the current start times.
“They really were fi ne,
thank you very much,”
Thompson said.
Many students did not
want the school day to
go later because of af-
ter-school jobs followed
by homework later in the
day.
A 53-page public input
report is available in the
materials for the project
team’s Feb. 4 meeting.
Many other documents
relating to the study are
available at bit.ly/SLP-
StartTimes.
EDUCATION BRIEF
Jewish day school
will celebrate family
at March 14 benefi t
The Amos and Celia Heilicher
Minneapolis Jewish Day School
will honor the legacy of Fay and
Leonard Ribnick and present their
family with the Ner Tamid Award
at the 2019 Heilicher Annual Ben-
efi t 5:45 p.m. Thursday, March
14, at Beth El Synagogue, 5225 W.
Barry St. in St. Louis Park.
The award recognizes commit-
ment to and leadership at Heili-
cher.
Steven Schoenberger, grandson
of the Ribnicks, said, “The fam-
ily Shabbat table was more than a
table. It was a classroom for devel-
oping our ethics. It was a gather-
ing place where, each week, we all
enjoyed family and shared ideas.
And it was a front row seat to
creating a lasting legacy and pro-
found impact on our family and
our community.”
Fay and Leonard Ribnick in-
stilled in their four children and
11 grandchildren a love for Ju-
daism, as refl ected in their lead-
ership roles in numerous Jewish
organizations including Beth El
Synagogue, Sholom Foundation
and the Minneapolis Jewish Fed-
eration, according to a statement
from the school.
All of their grandchildren grad-
uated from Heilicher, and fi ve of
their great-grandchildren are cur-
rently enrolled in the school. They
were regular participants in the
grandparents/special persons day
programs, and their children and
grandchildren have served as vol-
unteers, board members and pro-
fessionals at the school since its
inception.
Grandson David Ribnick said,
“It was my grandparents’ vision
and hope that all of us would at-
tend. I know how proud they were
when all their grandchildren gradu-
ated with great academic skills and
a rich Jewish education.”
Before Fay Ribnick died, her
grandchildren created a Shabbat
Basket program in her honor for
Heilicher kindergartners to enrich
Shabbat experiences for students
and their families in the same way
that their grandparents did for
them.
Granddaughter Shoshana Mann
said, “My grandparents’ ‘secret rec-
ipe’ was creating excitement around
Jewish values and community. Ju-
daism was a natural ingredient in
my relationship with my grandpar-
ents and subsequently my relation-
ship with the world around me.”
Tickets are available at hmjds.org/
news-events/annualbenefi t.
STORE CLOSING
SALE
Going on now thru March???
35% OFF
in our Main Store
&
60% - 75% OFF in our large Sale room
Stop in today for the best selection!
Open 10-5 Monday - Saturday
(weather permitting)
Fine Women’s & Infant’s Apparel, Home
Decor and Gifts with Style
691 lake street • Wayzata
952 473 8275 • blancdeblancltd.com