The worst feeling is waking up early while it is still pitch black outside, and not having enough energy to get through seven gruesome class periods on top of homework, clubs, sports, and most importantly, sleep. Starting school at a later time can be advantageous for both students and staff.
Although starting school at 8:50 a.m. has its benefits, such as reducing transportation costs by sharing buses with elementary schools, as well as afterschool sports and activities taking place sooner, to best serve students, school needs to start one hour later. Starting school an hour later can benefit student’s mental health and academic performance as they are able to get more sleep, resulting in better mood and improved concentration, according to [American Psychological Association]. The extra hour would allow students and teachers to have more quality time to prepare for the day, instead of feeling rushed and overwhelmed each morning.
Currently, the ICCSD board requires at least seven mandatory hours of school per day and starts school at 8:50 a.m for junior high and high school students. In 2016, the Iowa City School Board implemented a new bell schedule that pushed back the secondary school start time from 8 a.m. to the current 8:50 a.m. The new policy quickly became controversial amongst parents who worried about after school activities ending too late and getting in the way of their children’s chores and homework, which is understandable, but less vital then getting inadequate sleep.
Sleep is vital for adolescents both mentally and physically. According to Mayo Clinic, teens need around 8-10 hours of sleep each night in order to stay healthy. Unfortunately, most kids are averaging 6-7 hours each night, leading to sleep deprivation and sleep disorders, which is detrimental and damaging to growth. Poor sleeping habits can lead to many mental health issues such as an increased amount of stress, anxiety, depression, as well as physical health conditions. By starting school an hour later, not only will teens be able to retain more quality sleep, there will be a consistent increase in mental, physical, and social wellbeing.
One way to make up for the lost time is by implementing a block schedule where students have 4-5 classes a day which are 20-30 minutes longer. This gives students more time to focus on certain classes for an increased amount of time, while still retaining 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Dowling Catholic, Xavier High School, and Wahlert Catholic are highschools in Iowa that follow a block schedule, providing students with a more in-dept level of learning and deeper comprehension of content as students are given more time to focus on each class.
While some district administrators would argue that students would lose academic time, there are many benefits to starting at a later time which impacts students’ mental health and learning ability as they are getting sufficient sleep resulting in an overall better academic performance.
