Changing School Start Times

It's well known that teenagers need about 8-10 hours of sleep per night, and according to the CDC website, about seven out of ten high schoolers do not get enough sleep. The reason for this, also according to CDC, is a combination of early school start times and late bedtimes.

        In an attempt to fix this problem, the Littleton School System decided, after conducting a survey of students, parents, and others involved in the schools, to move school start times later and consolidate what was three bus times into two. Starting the 2023-2024 school year, the High School and Middle School will start at 8:05 am and 7:55 am, respectively, and continue sharing buses. Shaker Lane School and Russell Street School will start at 8:55 am and 8:45 am, and will share buses. 

Among the students, there has been much debate over whether this change is good. 

"Now that I'm used to it, the current start times don't seem so bad," one freshman said, "but if it helps everyone else get more sleep, I'm fine with it." Many students interviewed had moderate or indifferent feelings about the change. 

One junior said, "I'm on the fence of liking and being indifferent," and one sixth grader commented, "I kind of didn't like it at first, but I'm just so exhausted all the time, and at some point I realized that I can change my schedule [to accommodate for later start times] but I can't change the fact that I need a decent amount of sleep every night." 

        On the other end of the spectrum, a freshman called the change "ridiculous," and continued that "People are still not going to get enough sleep, and everyone will get stuck in traffic [because it will be rush hour]." A sophomore pointed out that "Schools will have to be spending a lot more money on buses that could go toward things like fixing the water damage in our school," and added that "highschoolers will no longer have an easy time working at tigers den." Another common complaint was that later school times will make sports practices and after school activities go later, which could negate the change in the mornings. 

        But, one thing that everyone agreed on was that adolescents do need more sleep. Although, one teacher pointed out, "The new start times... I don't think they'll make a difference for extra sleep and adolescent health; [it's] not a big enough change to make a difference… [I think] keeping it the same would've been best." This opinion seems to be the most common, but only time will tell how the changes are received once they're put into place. 

Here are some additional comments from students:

"Now that I'm used to it, the current start times don't seem so bad, but if it helps everyone else get a better night's sleep I'm fine with it." 

- freshman 

"I think that it's ridiculous! making us start a solid 40 minutes later is gonna affect sports. People are still not going to get enough sleep, and everyone will get stuck in traffic!"

- freshman

" I don't like how late it is; I like having my afternoon. [I wake up very early so] I'll have too much time in the mornings."   

- 7th grader

"I really don't care" 

- freshman

Sources:

“Sleep in Middle and High School Students.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10 Sept. 2020, www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/features/students-sleep.htm#:~:text=The%20American%20Academy%20of%20Sleep,10%20hours%20per%2024%20hours.

“Schools Start Too Early.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 5 Oct. 2022, www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/schools-start-too-early.html#:~:text=During%20the%20school%20week%2C%20school,wake%20up%20when%20they%20do.&text=The%20combination%20of%20late%20bedtimes,adolescents%20not%20getting%20enough%20sleep.