Yeah. One of my kids has to catch the bus at 6 a.m. So he’s half asleep all day. Not everyone’s a morning person. Just because Ben Franklin was, does everybody have to be one? Schools should have an afternoon/night option. And making everyone get up an hour early most of the year for DST doesn’t help. The LAST thing Southern states need, especially in the miserable summers, is more sunshine.
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Californians can all thank our outgoing Governor Jerry Brown for vetoing legislation to have later school start times for adolescents, despite all the science in favor of it.
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I'm really happy for the Seattle students, and I think it's about time.
When I was in high school (on nearby Vashon Island), our position near the start of the morning bus run meant we had to be at the bus stop before 6 am, waking early enough for 3 teen girls sharing one bathroom to get ready.
We'd come home and collapse into bed until dinnertime. It worked well enough, since drama and musical rehearsals were always in the evenings, not after school, but we were always exhausted. I recall getting so sleep-deprived that I'd hallucinate occasionally.
Anyway, I've actually noticed a difference in the teens I see in public here. They're engaging more, not just trudging blearily through the week - and with our low winter light levels, that's a real accomplishment.
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School systems need more data before making this expensive ($2m/hr) change in schedule. Two weeks of follow up is a good start but 6 -12 months would provide more reliable data. Adolescents are reportedly just going to bed later with later start times...
@Paul Halsey There was actually research done be a company called RAND that proves that by delaying school start times it would put more money back into the economy. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RR2109.html
Adolescents’ circadian rhythm is well documented so changing school times is a no brainer and what’s more it benefits them. Isn’t that what high school education is about?
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A a Seattle parent, I can vouch for the huge improvement that later start times have made for my teenager. The downside has been that elementary school start times moved much earlier, resulting in tired elementary aged students. My younger kids struggle getting up to be at school on time and the youngest need a nap almost every afternoon because they are tired after getting up so early. When my older kids were in elementary school they had a nice late start time and always went to school refreshed and ready to go, but the younger ones suffered with the early start times. We're not alone, and elementary teachers have noticed that kids are more cranky and tired due to early start times.
I think all kids need more sleep!
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Need 8-9.5, plus circadian rhythm is set 90 minutes later during adolescence. A high risk time for teens is between school and dinner. Lack of sleep lowers intelligence long term.
I moved my kid towards a family based public school program where teachers advised, taught some classes, and helped them utilize community college.
With control of her schedule, she chose late starting and evening classes, worked in the marketing department at a grocery store and assisting the community college union rep. She also volunteered, helping an art teacher.
When you take community college classes for high school, you get college credit too. I jumped in on the fun and we took classes abroad. She graduated high school at 16, and kept taking classes and traveling til 18, completing her first two years college and tagging into UC Davis (she didn't have to take SAT's). What a hoot watching her. The experience made her brave, so she got TA positions, independent studies...no burn out!
Now 28, a senior environmental graphics designer: San Jose Airport, the new LAX, John Wayne, an airport in Costa Rica andTexas. A children's wing of a Chicago hospital, Mount Cedar Sinai...ooh, and work in a prison! Worked on that old movie theatre in downtown Santa Barbara, too, and did a lobby installation at 444 Montgomery. She's made her mark at Stripe, Facebook, Stonetown's Mall and now is doing some cool prism sun for Santa Clara University, and working on Expedia's new campus.
Regular high school is stupid.
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I recall my mother forcing me out of bed at 7 and horrible headaches....and that was after having gone to bed at 9:30-10. As an adult I bounce out of bed at 5:00. Let them sleep.
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A 4.5% increase in grades? Nice weather is probably a more significant influence.
@Ed Later start times have also been linked to lower rates of depression and automotive accidents if you need a bit more incentive.
It has been known for years that the body's internal circadian clock shifts in adolescence to later times for falling asleep and for waking. It has also been known that performance on various cognitive tasks declines when teen-agers do not get enough sleep. It seems to me more likely that resistance to schedule change comes more from teachers and administrators who do well on adult schedules, and the consequences for students are placed second.
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@Martin I suspect there are many reasons for resistance to schedule change, but I suspect teachers being on adult schedules is low on the list.
In our area, there is a lot of pushback from athletes, coaches and parents of athletes because the later school day would affect sports schedules. The school board fields proposals by concerned students about this topic every year, but nothing changes- it’s clear that in our district, just like in general society, sports rule the day, I have heard stories of school# where they did manage to change the start time, only to have coaches and athletes leaving school early to make it to their games.
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Exactly the same has been true in suburban Massachusetts districts - the academic schedule is untouchable because it conforms to the demands of the sports program. Research-based suggestions ignored or belittled in favor of maximum practice and game time. Some districts are inching toward sensible start times, but just a few, and just a little (e.g. 20 minutes later).
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Can’t kids just go to sleep earlier.
@Maria The story explains that teens' circadian rhythms change, and they find it hard to fall asleep until later in the night.
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This is not rocket science. The resistance has always been dual income families trying to work out transportation and to not leave the home with a sleeping teen on their own.