Should Later Start Times Be Implemented in LHS?

Lexington is looking into pushing back the start times of Lexington High School to 8:30 a.m. in order to improve the health and academic performance of high school students. This would consequently change the start times of elementary and middle schools as well. However, there are many differing views both supporting and going against this change -- from parents, students, and teachers. Currently, the average school start times of only two states are after 8:30 a.m., while twenty six states start school after 8:00 a.m. That still leaves a good portion of schools starting before 8:00 a.m., which is not recommended by the CDC, American Medical Association, nor the American Academy of Pediatrics, all of whom have released statements stating that schools should start at 8:30 a.m. or later.  

The people who are supporting the LHS later start time have several key arguments. The first is that teenagers biologically need at least 9 ¼ hours of sleep per night, but they rarely get more than seven on school nights now. Students have many extracurriculars and homework as well as other commitments, and thus go to sleep late and have to wake up at around 6:30 a.m. or 6:45 a.m. in order to make the commute and get to school in time. Also, teenagers can’t really fall asleep before 11 p.m., due to their biological clock. So, they instinctively only fall asleep after 11 p.m., and the only way to get enough sleep is to wake up later. Currently, they must wake up very early with not enough sleep, and this can cause big problems concerning the health and functioning of students.

It is proven that students’ attentiveness in class increases with more sleep, which can lead to better grades and academic improvement in the long run. With the amount of sleep students are getting now, many walk in to school drowsy and cranky, not ready to pay attention and fully participate in their first and second periods, and thus almost waste school time as they can’t fully engage. Health problems associated with the continuous lack of sleep include depression, higher risks of obesity, participation in risky behaviors, and more. More than ⅓ of the adults in the U.S. suffer from chronic sleep deprivation, and these habits are picked up in the formative years of their life. Teenagers getting more sleep may reduce the amount of sleep deprived adults and lower the amounts of people with the resulting health issues. These problems can be improved and solved with later start times, as they will allow students to perform better in school, and have positive effects such as students being more attentive, having better mental health, and possible improved academic performance.

However, many students, parents, and teachers are opposed to this change. They bring up concerns such as increased transportation costs, shifted after-school activities, and increased daycare costs. Rescheduling the time and location of the school busses costs money, but this problem has already been taken into account by Lexington and is estimated to cost about $37,000 to accommodate; this is thought to be a reasonable price. The new start times, if changed, will be at 9 a.m. for elementary schools, 8 a.m. or 7:50 a.m. for middle schools, and 8:30 a.m. for the high school. Concerns such as drop off times for elementary students were brought up, as dropping off them later may be inconvenient, but an 8 or 8:15 a.m. early drop off has been proposed where parents can drop their kids off earlier than the start time and still get to work on time. After school activities will likely shift along with the later start times, reducing the possibility of cut extracurriculars. An issue may be that sports such as track and field-oriented events that have practices after school will be done partially in the dark during fall and winter practices, so lighting needs to be installed, which will come at a cost. Extended day and daycare costs would also be higher, as parents would pay for an extra hour.

The school board voted on the later start time on December fourth, and decided that the later start times will be implemented starting in the year 2020-2021

by MARINA NAUMOVA