Middle school starts too late

I am writing this in response to the Sept. 14 letter written to the Moorpark Acorn by J. Ustach, titled "Confused about new school schedule."

Firstly, I wanted to say that I support Moorpark teachers 100 percent. In the nine years that my children have been in the district, they have had the most wonderful, dedicated and hardworking professionals as their teachers.

That being said, I do not take issue with the teachers wanting additional time to collaborate if they feel it would help our students. What I do take issue with is the time.

My litmus test regarding adapting to all the changes of our Moorpark school start times has always been "what is best for all the students." So when the district had my children in multiple schools at all different times to accommodate the bus schedules, and therefore maintaining diversity at all the schools, I made it work because it was "best for all the students."

However, middle schoolers starting school at 10 a.m. does not pass this test. Like J. Ustach, my middle schooler has finished her homework and studying, so this extra time in the morning is idle. She, like many of her friends, doesn't want to go to school early because the study halls being offered are not of much use, and frankly, many of the parents have questions regarding who is providing the oncampus supervision since the qualified teachers are in the meetings.

I can tell you that children are hanging out in my neighborhood on Friday mornings. They are going to homes where they know the parents are not at home, as they have long left for work. This is a recipe for disaster. They are in the parks, at the Marketplace, the church parking lots and in the neighborhoods. They are not under the school's control until they arrive at school, so many, many sixth- to eighth-graders are being left unsupervised.

I am told that even some of the children whose parents have them ride the bus are arriving at 8:30 a.m. and are getting off the bus and walking down to the park. Given the recent abduction attempt in our neighborhood, this extra idle time for middle schoolers is a real problem. Let's not wait for a tragedy to occur. Let's fix this now.

It was explained to me that teachers could not hold their meetings from 8 to 9 a.m. due to union contracts. Perhaps an early dismissal, which most parents are already used to from the K-to-5 schools, would be a good compromise.

I understand that late meetings for teachers are not optimal for them, but it would be so much better for families and students, so I am sure they would make it work. If it is bus schedules that are the main obstacle, I am still optimistic that we can make that work too.

Many larger school districts, with many more students figure out this challenge, and so can we. Either way, 10 a.m. is simply too late to start school. Marcey Pascual Moorpark