June 4, 2015

Dear Parents and Guardians:

Since last fall, we have been engaged in an ongoing dialogue regarding the correlation of adequate sleep and student well-being and achievement. In response, district officials and I have been exploring the feasibility of readjusting Silver Creek’s start time.

Initial findings indicate that a slight, but more immediate, start time change will be possible for the 2015-2016 school year, but that a more significant change will require a comprehensive review involving parents and staff from all St. Vrain high schools. Issues include, but are not limited to, interconnected bus schedules, fleet capacity, staffing, budgetary implications, and student/family after school schedules.

As an immediate step in this direction, Silver Creek’s start time for the 2015-2016 school year will be changed from 7:15 to 7:30 a.m. The impacts of this change on other school start times and bus routes is minimal and manageable because of Silver Creek’s limited reliance on bus transportation.

During 2015-2016, we will schedule a series of discussion sessions to gather more input from parents and explore a variety of scenarios to consider. Due to start times later than 7:30 am having significant impacts on a larger number of schools and creating a substantial increase in transportation expenses, it will be important that parents and district personnel throughout the Silver Creek feeder system and across St. Vrain are included in this discussion.

I want to thank parents who have already contributed to this important discussion. I also want to invite each of you to participate in the meetings to be scheduled for early next fall. I will inform you of the meeting details via ShoutPoint message system once finalized.

Thanks again for your ongoing support and patience as we work through this complex issue. Feel free to contact me if you have questions.

Sincerely,

Erick Finnestead, Principal

Silver Creek High School