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Essay On Later School Start Times

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Academic success is infinitely more challenging for sleep deprived teenagers. Dr. M. Safwan Badr, past president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, disagreed with early start times by stating, “It makes no sense. You’re asking kids to learn math at a time their brains are not even awake” (Liz). Certain abilities, such as memory, organizational and thinking skills, are impaired with a lack of sleep. Later school start times are not only advantageous to students, later start times are also very beneficial to schools. A study of 9,000 students in eight Minnesota public high schools showed that after Minnesota pushed back their school start times by thirty minutes, grade point averages and standardized test scores improved (Brody). School attendance also increased with later start times (Boergers). Despite the benefits of having later start times for schools, many schools are resisting the change. Even though the AAP recommends a later start time for schools, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reports that only 14% of all middle schools and high schools follow the 8:30 a.m. …show more content…

Schools that are resistant to delaying the start of school for high school and middle school are not looking at the big picture and are being short-sighted. The costs, both logistically and financially, are small in comparison to the short- and long-term benefits for not just teenagers but also their communities. When students have an increased chance of learning and achieving, they will have more to offer to their communities once they graduate. Some states are taking actions to help alleviate the financial burden put upon schools when the schools change to a later start time. Legislation has been proposed in several states to give grant money to schools that are willing to switch to later start times for their students

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