Davenport students will be starting the school day a new time this fall.
Monday, the Davenport Board of Education voted to approve bell schedule "Option CC" with all start and end times adjusted by 20 minutes.
Under this plan, all the district's elementary schools will begin the day at 7:35 a.m., the high schools and alternative programs will start at 8:10 a.m., and the intermediate and non-public schools will begin the day at 8:45 a.m. Assumption High School however, will likely start around 8:10 a.m.
Ten elementary school parents and teachers spoke at Monday's meeting, all of them pushing for earlier start times for the district's youngest students.
"We have high expectations and rigorous curriculum that we're trying to get with them, and we need them to do their best. We feel like we're getting that through to them in the morning, and later in the afternoon is not doing it," said one Harrison Elementary teacher.
The Board's decision comes after months of debate over new bell schedules, launched when the district adopted a 1,080-hour school year and sought to equalize the number of instructional hours at every school.
In April, the Board made a start time decision, only to rescind it after receiving hundreds of negative comments and a petition from parents.
The new start times will go into effect this fall with the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year.