It began as a simple way to improve bus service at Thomas Middle School in Arlington Heights.
When classes resume next week, school will start at 7:30 a.m. and the dismissal bell will sound at 2:30 p.m.–30 minutes earlier than last year.
But what officials hadn’t counted on was the impact these changes would have on parents such as Leslie Pinney. She’s worried the new dismissal time may mean her 11-year-old daughter, who is too old for organized day care, may be left home alone as a latchkey child.
“I don’t want her to spend her time after school sitting in front of a video,” said Pinney, whose daughter, Terrica, will start 6th grade at Thomas on Sept. 2.
“I’m very fearful. My mother worked, and I was responsible for coming home after school and making dinner. But there are more ways to get in trouble these days.”
It is a predicament parents across the suburbs are facing as the school year approaches. From Schaumburg to Crystal Lake, parents are searching for safe, creative alternatives that will bridge the abyss between school hours and the moment mom or dad arrives home from work in the evening.
Indeed, many parents are discovering that their stern mandate to “stay in the house and lock the door” is unrealistic. Experts who have studied early childhood behavior suggest too much unsupervised time can be devastating for many children.
“Young people need some kind of structured activity other than being left to roam the streets or stay home alone,” said Anthony Jackson, a psychologist and program director with the New York-based Carnegie Corp., a non-profit group aimed at meeting the educational and health needs of children and families.
“When you increase the number of hours a middle school student is alone, it has the potential to become a problem,” Jackson said.
The problems, of course, can be as minor as a youngster ingesting massive doses of MTV or as troubling as experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol and drugs.
Helen Figaro, the coordinator of the Schaumburg Park District’s after-school care program, said the void in services for pre-teens is a serious issue.
“Anywhere you go, you hear parents saying that middle school kids get left out,” said Figaro, the coordinator of the Park District’s program.
“If we offered anything here that was reminiscent of baby-sitting, the kids would be insulted,” added Sherry Dunn, principal at South Middle School in Arlington Heights.
Dunn said the school offers an array of after-school activities.
But despite perks that include an after-school activity bus to transport students home at 3:45 p.m., Dunn said, scores of students are unable to join in a game of volleyball or sing in the school musical because their parents need them to return home to supervise younger siblings.
In Crystal Lake, the city, Park District and local schools have created a program that allows some middle-school students to act as helpers at neighborhood elementary schools.
Still, some parents have found that an adolescent with an appetite for independence may thrive.
As the mother of three children, ages 8, 13 and 14, Arlington Heights resident Maryann Sheehan was pleasantly surprised when her sons handled the responsibility of being home alone.
Still, when the 2:30 p.m. dismissal time begins next month at Thomas School, principal Charles Crissey said he will be doing his best to ensure that students have extracurricular activities to keep them busy for at least one hour after school.
