The timing of school start times has been a long-standing debate. While it makes sense for younger children to have later mornings, what about our middle and high school students? Recent research suggests that pushing start times to after 8:30 a.m. could greatly benefit not only students’ mental and physical health but also the economy as a whole.
One common rationale for maintaining early start times revolves around transportation logistics. Schools often share bus services between elementary, middle, and high school students, necessitating staggered start times. However, what are the hidden costs of sending students out the door before 7 a.m. to learn while they are still half-asleep?
Wendy Thompson, a co-author of a relevant study, explained to the Chicago Tribune that the significant economic gains from simply shifting school start times to 8:30 a.m. could manifest within a few years. The potential nationwide benefits, including improved academic performance and fewer car accidents, could amount to an astonishing $9.3 billion annually.
A recent study by the RAND Corporation examined the impact of starting middle school later and concluded that, over a decade, this change could contribute a staggering $83 billion to the U.S. economy. This would not only enhance students’ academic outcomes, leading to higher lifetime earnings, but also reduce sleep-related car accidents.
So what’s holding us back from making this change? New start times would inevitably incur additional costs for school districts, requiring adjustments to bus schedules and possibly new infrastructure for after-school activities, like outdoor lighting. Yet, these expenses seem minor when weighed against the substantial benefits of extra sleep for students.
Take my son, for example. He boards the bus by 6:40 a.m. each day, which means he wakes up at 6 a.m. After late-night hockey practices that can end around 10 p.m., he struggles to get even seven hours of sleep on school nights. The result? A cranky teenager who can’t concentrate.
Teenagers naturally tend to stay up late and sleep in, a reality I see reflected in my high school daughter’s experience as well. Even with a slightly later bus time of 7:30 a.m., she still battles sleep deprivation, regardless of my attempts to enforce an early bedtime.
Critics argue that delaying school start times may only encourage teens to stay up later. However, a systematic review published last year found that shifting school start times by just 25 to 60 minutes led to increased sleep duration of 25 to 77 minutes each night. This suggests that students retain their bedtime habits, simply gaining the extra sleep they desperately need.
The issue of school start times is critical; it’s clear that many children are over-scheduled and exhausted. While implementing such a policy change may require significant effort, research supports that later start times can alleviate some of these issues.
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In summary, pushing school start times later could yield significant benefits for students and society alike—so why aren’t we already making these changes?
Keyphrase: Delayed School Start Times
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