New start, dismissal times for several Madison schools for 2020-21 school year

MADISON, Wis. - Several Madison schools are changing start and dismissal times for the 2020-21 school year.

Midvale, Lincoln, Chavez and Olson elementary schools will start at 7:50 a.m. They will end at 1:15 p.m. on Mondays and at 2:47 p.m. Tuesday-Fridays, according to a notice posted on the Madison Metropolitan School District's website.

The post indicates start time will be about 50 minutes earlier for these students.

Hamilton, Toki and Wright middle schools will start at 8:40 a.m. during the next school year. Students will be dismissed at 2:20 p.m. on Mondays and 3:52 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays. 

The start time will be about an hour and five minutes later than this year.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends middle and high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later to align with school schedules and the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents.

The Madison school board approved of changing school start times beginning in the 2019-20 school year.

Six elementary and five middle schools will change in the 2021-22 school year.

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