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School Start Times

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A recent study done by the National Sleep Foundation showed that only 15% of students get the necessary 8 ½ hours of sleep on school nights.Over the years, school’s starting times have been moved earlier in the day, which is affecting students and teachers’ performance . However, moving the times forward is a debated issue among the community. School start times should be moved forward to allow students more time to sleep. Delaying school start times can help students improve in their learning and performance, as well as, making the road safer for the new teen drivers and others on the road. Also, it can help improve the health of students and young teachers.

Overall, sleep is vital to person’s well being and can be as important as breathing …show more content…

For example, a study conducted by the University of Minnesota showed,”Researchers analyzed data from more than 9,000 students at eight high schools in Minnesota, Colorado, and Wyoming and found that shifting the school day later in the morning resulted in a boost in attendance, test scores, and grades in math, English, science, and social studies “ (The Atlantic ). The results of this study overwhelmly showed that shifting the start of the school day correlates with higher grades and better attendance records for students. This has to do with the fact that it is harder to pay attention and learn in class when tired , which is hard to avoid when school starts before eight in the morning. A fact of equal importance comes from the article, ‘’Scientists Link A Good Night’s Sleep To Higher Test Scores” the people conducting the study surveyed some first year college students about their sleeping habits. When comparing the results, researchers found that students that generally got a good night of sleep tested ten percent higher on exams than those who got less sleep (The Huffington Post). This is vital information because it shows that the amount of sleep students get affects their performance in class. With that, if a student is lacking the recommended amount of sleep they are at an increased risk of performing poorly in class. To summarize, …show more content…

They believe School schedules should stay the same because shifting the school day affects families and transportation schedules.The article, “ Do Later School Start Times Really Help High School Students?” argues that, “. It can be disruptive to parents' work schedules, result in shortened times for after-school activities such as sports and clubs, cause students to get home later in the day, and may also impact hours available for after school jobs.” (Psychology Today). This is an important point to keep in mind because many parents work later in the day and would have to accommodate their schedule if the school times shifted, which is not easy for many people. Also, many students are involved in extracurricular activities and if school starts later it will end later, which may interfere with the amount of time students have for these activities. Another fact to consider is in the article “Not Everyone Thinks MCPS High Schools Should Start Later” it says, that school districts that use the same buses to transport throughout all of the schools in the district will not be able to transport home all of the students if there was a schedule change. They also say that not only would there be a problem with getting kids home, but there would be a problem with having the buses on the road during rush hour which could cause kids to not get home until late evening. This is

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