SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Several parents said they were confused about variations in start times at Central Valley district schools.
The district's elementary, middle and high schools all have different start times and are not the same for each day of the week.
"It's pretty inconvenient," said Cassandra Walls, a parent in the district.
Elementary schools start at 9 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. On Thursday's school starts at 10 a.m.
Middle schools start at 8:10 a.m. on all school days, except for Thursday's, when classes start at 9:10 a.m.
High schools start at 7:40 a.m. every Monday, Tuesday and Friday. On Wednesday's, classes start at 8:20 a.m., and on Thursday's they start at 8:50 a.m.
Cassandra Walls moved to Greenacres in the district at the beginning of the school year. She said the different times can be a lot to manage, especially for those with children across all three grade levels.
"It's a struggle sometimes to remember, and it's hard when you think you're showing up on time, and you're actually late," she said.
Marla Nunberg, spokesperson for the district, said the high school start times are later on Wednesday's because some classes, like science, are grouped together into blocks.
On Thursday's, all schools have late starts for teacher meetings and workshops.
"It's nothing I've seen before. I can manage the late starts, but it's nothing I've seen at a high school level," Walls said. "It'll just be something I have to adjust to."
Compared to other districts, the time standard is unusual. Spokane schools, for example, have the same start times through the entire week.