The daily bell schedule has 1st period beginning at 7:50 a.m.
In accordance with recommendations by pediatricians and psychologists, students would be better off with a school day that starts later in the day.
Nationwide, most districts start the school day around 8:00 A.M.This system works well for elementary through middle school students and their guardians. However, for students at the high school level, this schedule can create issues regarding sleep due to the circadian rhythm, also known as the sleep cycle, being disrupted as a result of puberty. This lack of sleep consistently over months, aka chronic sleep deprivation, can lead to several adverse effects, including but not limited to paranoia, memory issues, and mood swings that are harmful to the student, their social life, and their studies. Starting the school day later, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, solves these issues as the disruption of the circadian rhythm by a couple of hours will not affect students’ sleep as much and could prevent many of the issues caused by chronic sleep deprivation.
The other issue solved by starting the school day later is the issue of students sleeping in and missing school. This issue can be caused by the aforementioned issue with the circadian rhythm and the sleep schedule being put off. Changing the school start time would help prevent the issues caused by this shift and would result in higher attendance rates for the district as students will be late to their transportation as a result of sleeping in less often. This is in addition to students being refreshed and ready to learn throughout the school day, thanks to getting their full 8 hours of sleep the body needs.
This change, if glanced at, looks like it has one glaring issue. Parents who pick up and drop off their children may be unable to do this if the start and end times shift. However, at the high school level, students have many more options for transportation. In addition to bus transportation being given to all students living within county lines, not within walking distance, students who are 16 and above have the ability to drive upon getting their driver’s license and drive to school. All of these options allow for parents to break away from driving their children and still allow for students to get to school on time and ready to learn— without the adverse effects of chronic sleep deprivation.
The school day needs to start later in the day. It would allow students to get the rest they need for an optimal learning environment, boost attendance rates for the district, all while still allowing students to get to school on time through the many different transportation methods parents and students have at their disposal.
