To the editor:

(An open letter to the Barrington School Committee)

I am writing to commend you on your decision to enact safe and healthy start times for our schools beginning in the fall of 2016.

Over the past several years, you listened to the different perspectives offered by many members of our community, and made a well-reasoned, science-based decision that prioritizes the health and wellness of all of our students.

The selected start time of 8:30 a.m. for the middle and high schools meets the recommendation by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that no middle or high school start before 8:30 a.m. The 15-minute shift in start times for our elementary school students is minor when you take into account the fact that we have all previously successfully adapted our schedules by 35 minutes as we moved from our K-3 schools to HMS; and then 70-plus minutes as our children moved from HMS to BMS and BHS.

I urge you to remain resolute in your decision to implement these improved start times for the fall of 2016.

My family's busy schedule changes frequently: seasonally with sports; every couple of months, with the selection of different after school enrichment classes; yearly as they enter different grades in school; every few years as they try out a new sport or instrument or other extracurricular endeavor; and it is of course always subject to many unexpected occurrences such as illnesses, doctors appointments, birthday parties and snow days. Even with two working parents, we adapt.

The health and wellness of our kids, and your students, trumps any inconvenience we experience. I am confident that the administration and the families in our community can continue to resolve any scheduling challenges that they face through the initial implementation of new start times.

Let your mission statement guide you: "empower all students to excel." Ensure that the safe and healthy start times you enacted are implemented by the administration in the fall of 2016.

Respectfully and sincerely,

Tricia Adams

Barrington