Student Productivity In Middle School By Kelly Peaton And Denise-Marie Ordway

The school day should start later in order improve students’ mental health. Survey results have consistently indicated that middle level and high school students who start school at 7:15 a.m. or earlier obtain less total sleep on school nights due to earlier rise times in comparison to students at later-starting schools. () This is just the beginning of the negative impacts that early start times have on students. By starting school at a later time, students’ brains will function better, their grades and learning increases, and will be more mentally stable.

Yet still, parents and students are pushing for later start times in schools to accommodate to the natural schedule. Starting school at 9-10am rather 6-8am would drastically increase a student’s performance in school and would allow for more productivity and higher grades. Proper cognitive function would allow for happier and healthier students and could allow for a more positive social environment in

In his article Mr. Carroll delves into the benefits and detriments to a later start time in schools, and he makes the argument that the benefits from a later start time to the individual student and society as a whole substantially outweigh any increased financial cost incurred in making a later start time a reality

The article “Later start time for teens improves grades, mood, and safety” addresses the topic for teens to have later start times. “The evidence shows that the later the start time, the greater the academic benefits” (Wahlstrom 2016, pg 2). The author has strong arguments concluding the medical research, schools actually participating in later start times, academic outcomes, and health/activity outcome. School starting times being later could be more effective for students in their health and scholastic purposes.

Although there is a preponderance of the evidence that supports the later start times for Middle and High schools, some people feel that the befits do not outweigh the costs that come along with starting school later in the day and that those obstacles s are too difficult to overcome. Many of these impediments are because of the fact that starting school at a later time would result in school ending at a later time in order for schools to meet the minimum about of hours they are required to have in the day. In other words, the time being taken away at the beginning of the day has to be added to the end. The competitiveness of getting into colleges requires that high school students participate in numerous extra-curricular activities and/or

Studies have shown that people do most of their best thinking in the late morning to the late afternoon. This is true to people that go to work and for people that go to school. A British boarding school decided to start school at 10 in the morning to study the kids and their grades. The school saw an average improvement in

Do later start times in school help kids stay focussed throughout the day? Many schools have been asking this question. Some schools have even already changed their start times to be later in the morning. I believe that school start times should stay the same way that they are, because of weaknesses that could be avoided that go with later start times. I will present reasons that the same start times schools use now are fine for students today.

Many schools are now organizing school day schedules to maximize instructional time and minimize non-instructional time, such as recess (Pellegrini & Bohn, 2005). Schools made this shift in response to increased state testing and the associated pressures of funding. Some also believe that the shift to more instructional time and less non-instructional time was worsened with the adoption of Common Core standards in elementary schools. However, this may not be the best move for schools or for long-term student success.

During the day most students are failing because of the start time of school. “...teens average fewer than 7 hours per school night by the end of high school, and most report feeling tired during the day” (Wolfson, Carskadon).

2. The later start time also significantly increased student’s GPA and are more likely to pay attention and retain information given to them throughout the day. Later start times also showed an increase in college and state test scores.

If schools started later, students could go to bed at a healthier time for their bodies and still get necessary amounts of sleep. Therefore, they would score higher on tests and make better grades. Many schools have experimented with later start times and have had improved student success. Alexandra Sifferlin says that “In Wake County, North Carolina, a study showed that delaying the start of school by one hour could lead to a two to three percentile point increase in math and reading test scores. The effect was greatest among students who were struggling,” (“When Sleep and School Don’t Mix”). Another example is Sharon High School in Massachusetts, which delayed start times 40 minutes from 7:25 A.M. to 8:05 A.M. in 2010 (Sifferlin). Since the delay, the school has seen a drastic decrease in students tardy to first period. The school has also sent out many surveys to both students and teachers; the students were all grateful for the extra sleep, whereas the teachers appreciated the students being more attentive and involved in the mornings (Sifferlin). Also, the delay has given teachers extra time to work in the mornings. Sharon High School Latin teacher, Jen Orthman told Alexandra Siferlin ‘“I think that despite some initial resistance to the change, most teachers appreciate having additional time in the morning to meet with students, collaborate with peers, partake in meetings, and set up classrooms for the day,”’ (“When

Starting school later in the day would allow teenagers to get an extra hour of sleep, which can be more important than most realize. Due to a delayed chemical release in the brain, most teenagers find it difficult to fall asleep before 11 p.m. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has discovered that by starting schools later, teens could “get an additional hour of sleep per night. . . [which] may even improve students' performance in school”(LA Times 1). This shows that an extra hour of sleep can make a huge difference in terms of the impact on a student's’ academics. Although “later start times could create scheduling problems,” many schools have a policy of “school first, then sports” meaning that doing schoolwork is more important that extracurricular sports (LA Times 1). If schools stay true to this, then there should not be much of an issue, if any, between sports and schoolwork schedules. These reasons provide substantial evidence that starting schools later would only benefit

According to a report from the New York City district, a school that received funds for longer days fared better on standardized tests. This school had seven percent more students scoring at or above grade level in reading, when two other schools had increases of five and six percent. In math, three percent of students scored at or above grade level in a school with a longer day, compared with one percent for a low performing school and an average of one percent for other schools (Brett 1). This information is one example of many studies that illustrate that long school days have a great positive impact on school performance. The main school goals are improving students’ knowledge and building different skills that will help them in the future. Therefore, if longer school days support these educational goals, people should be concerned about improving schools by lengthening the day.

There are strategies Medina (2014) shares that teachers and administrators can use to assist the owls and larks in the classroom. One of the most logical is for administration to schedule teachers and students to match their chronotype to enhance the productivity of both. Does a school have to start at 8:00 a.m.? It is proven that the sleep hormones are at maximum levels in the human brain as teenagers requiring them to have more sleep, especially in the morning. Starting at 9:00 a.m. may be a good idea. Also, it is recommended that heavy expectations are not given when the C and S curves are flat lined. We provide nap time during elementary early years, but research suggests that high schoolers could use nap time, too. Also, according to Medina (2014), when introducing a new difficult topic, it has been proven that if students are allowed to go home and sleep on it before trying to incorporate the new information, the positive results of “capitulation” can occur resulting in positive “graphing” the following day (p. 43).

School day reformation includes a variety of alternative forms of scheduling that could have an effect on the current school climate. Both of these factors have been studied to determine the impact they have on student success, academic achievement and overall behavior. Regardless of the extensive research that has been conducted on these subjects, only one study conducted by a principal in Maryland (Goodman, 2007) has been conducted to determine the