Young Writers Society

NOTE: This paper has been edited to a web-friendly version that protects the writer's privacy. As such, names have been replaced with words like "the school", "the principal", "the counselor", "the teacher", and "the school district" for this reason.

Why Schools are not Pushing Back Start Times

By AndrewX28

Introduction

John’s life is a chaotic one. Starting his day at 6:00 AM, he slaps his alarm clock as he prepares to go take a shower. Still drowsy, he goes to the kitchen where he attempts to pour milk into his bowl but misses. He is tired. It is a Monday, and the past weekend, he had spent staying up and waking up late. Getting back to the normal routine is hard. He finishes his breakfast and barely catches his bus to his 7:30 AM start time. His first couple of classes is cloudy, and he accidently falls asleep during Calculus. He does not truly feel ready to learn until lunch. Afterwards, John goes to his after-school tutoring sessions where he yawns constantly and has trouble paying attention. Back home, he does his homework, chat with his friends, and watches television until 10:00 PM where he prepares for bed. Once he shuts off his light, he stays in bed for an hour where he cannot fall asleep. He constantly tosses and turns, thinking about upcoming papers, friend troubles, and a recent quiz. Finally, he falls asleep at 11:00 PM where he will get back up at 6:00 AM again the next day to restart the entire routine.

Many sleep experts would criticize John’s schedule. His life is a good representation of the typical high school student’s schedule. Some of the problems experts would question are why is John waking up at 6:00 AM, when the adolescent mind is not meant to wake up? Why is his weekend schedule so different from his weekday schedule? Why is he trying to force himself to sleep at 10:00 PM, when there is evidence out there that the adolescent brain will usually fall asleep at 11? Finally, why is school starting at 7:30 AM? Many experts agree that the human brain functions best at around noon, with 9:00 AM being the preferred time for schools to start. So why do school districts continue to have students learn at 7:30 AM and even before then, when studies have shown that the adolescent brains are not ready to learn to their full potential?

Studies for a Later Start Time

Studies have shown that there have been many benefits to a later start time. In an article called "Changing Times: Findings From the First Longitudinal Study of Later High School Start Times", Kyla Washinstrom from the Department of Educational Policy and Administration in the University of Minnesota did an experiment where seven high schools in the Minneapolis Public School District shifted their school start times from 7:15 A.M. to 8:40 A.M. Gathering data from this experiment, she found students have a higher attendance rate, are less sleepy during class, and have less depression (Washinstrom, K, online). In the article "Adolescent Sleep, School Start Times, and Teen Motor Vehicle Crashes," Fred Danner, Ph.D. and Barbara Phillips, M.D., M.S.P.H. examined the effects of a delayed high-school start times on sleep and motor vehicle crashes. To do this, they had students from a large school district fill out a questionnaire before and after a one hour delay in school start times. According to the results, "Average hours of nightly sleep increased and catch-up sleep on weekends decreased. Average crash rates for teen drivers in the study county in the two years after the change in school start time dropped 16.5%, compared with the two years prior to the change, whereas teen crash rates for the rest of the state increased 7.8% over the same time period" (Danner, F, online).

They concluded that a later school start time not only increased the amount of sleep adolescents get, but also decrease their risk of motor vehicle crashes. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in hours spent on homework, sports, activities, or work. It also helped students get the amount of sleep needed by adolescents. Overall, the benefits of a later start time seem overwhelming-students who start school later get more sleep, are more attentive during class, have a higher attendance rate, have less depression, and are less likely to get into a motor accident than those who start school earlier.

Why Most School Districts are not Pushing Back Start Times

Therefore, the question that begs to be answered is, why are school districts so reluctant to push back their school start times? According to Sleep Information for Teens, buses and after-school programming are the main culprits. "Most school districts have a delicately balanced bus transportation system designed to run as efficiently and inexpensively as possible. Using the same buses and drivers to bring all school age children to school saves money and helps distribute traffic during rush hours." (Bellenir, K, 279) This forces many school districts to start classes in certain schools earlier so that they can pick up other students without having to purchase more buses or hiring more employees. After school activities are also a problem. A delay in start time means that there is a later release time, which means that there is a less time for practices, matches, and other activities, especially if it is an outdoor activity. Furthermore, if one school were to start later, this will mean that a student from that school might need to miss class to attend a match. For the less fortunate schools, a later start time might mean a cancellation of certain activities due to the need to share certain resources or spaces. Start School Later, Inc., a non-profit organization aimed at informing others about the benefits of a delayed school time, believes that a series of myths and misconceptions are the cause. These misconceptions include: it is too expensive to start school later, teenagers need to take responsibility and early starts prepares teens for the real world, students will just go to bed later, kids just need to adhere to a good bedtime, it’s safer to start high schools first instead of elementary schools, and that "everything’s fine the way it is." These misconceptions, they say, causes lots of misinformed opposition, and so "a Superintendent who suggests the change can be ‘run out of town’" (Start, online), even though there is clear evidence that a later start time is best for students. At the end of the day, these points, misconceptions or not, prevent most school districts from taking action.

Why Schools Isn’t Pushing Back Start Times: A Principal's Viewpoint

Recently, I met with the principal of a local high school (School A) who was kind enough to sit down and discuss why they start at 7:30 A.M. and the consequences of attempting to push it back. The primary issue, she acknowledges, is the cost of busing students. "Our school shares buses with a neighboring school to save on buses and employee costs. Since we share buses with that school, that means if we start at, say, 8:00 A.M., that means they would have to start at 8:45 A.M. This means that they would probably get out around 4:00 PM, which would be far too late". The main issue, as it turns out, is not because School A’s schedule would not work, but it is because the other school's day will be pushed back too far. The other schools in the school district follow the same structure. Delaying one school’s start time causes the school that shares buses with the first one to become even more delayed. Although the later start time does not harm students, the later release time of those later schools will affect sports, activities, volunteering, and work. Because of this, the principal says, it is difficult for the district to adjust times without compromising too much. The principal notes another problem: sports-specifically JV sports, which usually plays before the varsity teams. Having the school day too late will cause athletes to miss important class time in order to make it to a game. Furthermore, since JV often plays before varsity, a later start time may prohibit the use of the facility, and therefore, prevent JV from going at their current time. If JV was to go later, this will cause the varsity game to be pushed back too late. Due to all of these reasons, the principal notes, it will be very difficult to change the time.

Why D211 Isn’t Pushing Back Start Times: A Counselor's Viewpoint

The other person I spoke to is a counselor at the same high school agrees that the start time is too early to have students learning and that it should be delayed. He agrees with the principal about the difficulties of changing the start time, though he thinks that sports should be a lesser influence. "Athletes are only a percentage of students, and if starting school later will help all students, then I think that a later school start would be beneficial". If the argument was solely based on that, he claims, it is probably worth it to delay the school time, since there is an abundance of studies showing the benefits of a later school start. He does believe, though, that the buses make a big impact on school start times. When asked about how much the school district should sacrifice financially in order to improve student success, he believes that it is a very tricky call. "It’s a fine line between the business side of school districts and the service side of school districts". This school district, historically, has been good on the business side, he notes. Since the probability of simply pushing back the school start time will not be feasible, the only way to delay the start time would be to have all of the schools start at the same time. However, the school district is usually careful about expenses, so it is probably a good assumption that the school district would not be willing to pay to double its bus fleet to push back the start time. When asked about how teachers and parents would react, the counselor thinks that teachers will adjust. "At least for me, I don’t live near here, so with rush hour, I would still have to leave home at the same time". Furthermore, he understands why students cannot pay attention at 7:30 A.M., claiming that he also does not feel ready to meet with students and parents at this point of the morning. He also notes that when he was in high school, they did not start this early. As for parents, he thinks that it should not be as big of a deal, since high school students are better at taking care of themselves before school and after school. So the real issue, the counselor concluded, is how to organize busing efficiently and still be able to push back start times.

A Teacher’s Opinion

I met is a math teacher at the high school and is known for his energy and willingness to help students succeed. When it comes down his opinion on a later school start time, he says that he has no opinion. When asked whether if he thinks students might find it beneficial, he thinks that any benefit would probably be lost due to students going to bed even later. "I think students will just go to bed later. The way I look at it, there’s only 24 hours in a day, so it’s not worth delaying school for". The teacher, a father of two kids who go to elementary school, says that when his kids go to high school, they will just have to adjust. When asked how teachers might react to a later start time, The teacher says, "Teachers might prefer the current start time, since they get to get more things done after school". As for if he was superintendent, he says that he would have to run school the same way, since it is very difficult physically due to the buses and the financial resources that would be necessary to fund a larger bus fleet.

School Systems and the Past

The real question is, why is our school system still running like it was a couple years ago? Times have changed, especially due to technology and increasing globalization of today’s world. However, schools are still running on a farmer’s schedule. The early school day was set so that farm kids could do the morning chores, go to school, and come back to help with the farm. Due in part with technology, students no longer need to help out with the farm after school, but our schools continue to start when the rooster calls-and even before that in some cases. School start times are not the only issue: issues such as why we still have a long summer are a hot topic today. The summer was originally put in place so that students can work on the fields during the summer days and come back after crops were harvested. A more efficient schedule would be to have school year round with periodic breaks in between to prevent students from forgetting the information that they have just learned. As the world evolves, schools are not evolving with them. Why are schools not changing the way they schedule if there is an abundance of research and studies that prove that not only is it beneficial to the students, both academically and emotionally, but also reduce the amount of car related accidents? If the purpose of schools is to provide the best possible education to today’s students, changing the bell schedule and summer breaks should be a fairly straightforward and obvious route, no iPads or Smart Boards needed. If busing and after-school activities are the issue, the question becomes, what is wrong with having school end at 4:00 P.M.? A student will only benefit from being a part of a club or sport if the student is awake and alert, and even then, classes are more important than after school activities, or anything else in a student’s life. Even if a student was to get no extra sleep from a time change, studies have proven that an adolescent biological clock is more suited towards later in the day, meaning that the adolescent brain is more attentive at 9 A.M. than 7 A.M., even with no extra sleep. So, despite all these studies, why hasn’t much been done?

Why Schools are still stuck in the Old Days: A Assistant Principal's View

The last person I met is an assistant principal at the high school and is in charge of student activities, school improvements, and district assessment coordination. The assistant principal believes that society-parents and the community-are preventing a change in society. "Parents might think that since they got up early to go to school, children should too". Society likes tradition, he thinks, and it is hard for any school district, especially in our school district, to make any sort of major adjustments in the schedule without some outcry, especially when issues such as summer break. "Parents probably remember their summer breaks better than how it actually was, so they probably want their kids to have the same experiences. As for why, despite all the research and studies, it is hard to push a national law for a change, the assistant principal remarks that schools are mostly governed locally rather than nationally. Therefore, it is harder to try to push for national change, since the government usually does not dictate such issues.

Conclusion

The question has been one that has been asked repeatedly, but no one has a good solution to the problem. Busing and after-school activities remain the top issues that stand in between a later start times. For the more cash-strapped districts, they will most likely dismiss any suggestion of increasing their bus fleet. Coaches and after school activities are often opposed to a later release time, as it decreases their available time. In order to allow for competitions, many school districts would need to adopt the change, otherwise the difference in start times will cause missed classes and poor planning. Society’s resistance to large changes, seeing how our school calendar and schedule is still running off a farmer’s schedule rather than adapting to a more efficient way, is also a large roadblock in changing the start times. These issues, along with a couple misunderstandings and some legitimate concerns from the public, prevent most school districts from changing their start times, along with other cases where a reform would be beneficial to a student’s learning experience.

Meanwhile, John is almost done with high school. He is a senior now, and only has a mere couple of weeks before he graduates and starts his college career. Although college will be a challenge, he will at least be able to choose classes that will be better suited for his sleep schedule-that is, if he is able to.