The Fairport Central School District and FCSD Board of Education (BOE) are dedicated to protecting the health and wellbeing of all Fairport students. To that effect, District administration and the Board of Education are considering the benefits of shifting Fairport school start times to better align with research about both the importance of sleep for adolescents and improved outcomes at school that correlate with later arrival times for teens. This has been a longstanding goal of the BOE and there has been a great deal of analysis by the District on aligning start times to research. 

Research suggests that high schools that start later in the morning – allowing students to get more and/or better quality sleep – see increased student academic performance, a decrease in disciplinary actions and increased attendance. 

This topic was discussed at the Board’s December workshop. You can view the conversation on start times and a transportation analysis here on the FCSD YouTube page.

Shifting secondary school times until later in the morning and moving elementary school start times to earlier in the morning will have a major impact on students, families and staff. The District and the Board of Education are taking those impacts into consideration, and would like to hear from Fairport families about their thoughts on this process. 

The Board invites community members to share their thoughts at a public comment session at the January 23, 2024 Board of Education business meeting at Fairport High School. The meeting will begin at 7 p.m. with a public comment period dedicated to discussing start times. A general public comment session will immediately follow. 

If you’d like to comment on a potential shift in school start times, or in the general public comment session, contact the Board Clerk at (585) 421-2010 or by emailing districtclerk@fairport.org. If you are unable to attend, you may email your comments to districtclerk@fairport.org. There will be additional future opportunities for comment. 

Individuals who choose to participate in a public comment period are bound by the terms outlined in this policy and must conduct themselves in a manner commensurate with the laws, regulations and policies that govern the operation of Board of Education meetings. The following rules and procedures shall govern the public comment period of meetings of this Board:

1. 30 minutes may be set aside on regular meeting agendas to provide public comment by District employees and residents only.
2. Speakers shall have a maximum of three (3) minutes each.
3. Individuals who wish to speak during the public comments must sign up in advance.