Stop the plan for extended school hours in Haverhill, MA

To:  Superintendent of Haverhill Schools and Haverhill School Council

Dear Dr. Buchanan and Haverhill School Council,

We are opposed to the proposed plan for extended hours at Consentino and Whittier middle schools. We feel the additional school hours will deeply cut into after school activities, sports, and family time. Given the later hour the children will be returning home, this will also limit their time for outdoor play which promotes exercise and allows for fresh air. It was indicated at the last meeting that the schools will continue to assign homework in addition to a nearly 8 hour school day. We believe this will be exhausting to the children and put families under added stress. Although education is very important to us, we want our children to live a balanced life and not become over burdened with school. Furthermore, parents are concerned that the open enrollment policy to the other middle schools will not be an option due to limited space, and that transportation will be a hardship for many. We understand this plan is being proposed as a means to raise past MCAS scores. However, since many Haverhill students make top grades, we feel this is an unfair solution. We urge you to reconsider the proposal for the extended hours and research other options to help the children in need of support. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

The Stop the plan for extended school hours in Haverhill, MA Petition to Superintendent of Haverhill Schools and Haverhill School Council was created by and written by Jeanne Hollins (letkidsbekids@eggiwegs.com).  This petition is hosted here at www.PetitionOnline.com as a public service. There is no endorsement of this petition, express or implied, by Artifice, Inc. or our sponsors. For technical support please use our simple Petition Help form.