Why school should start later than 8:30

By Kendall W.

Many people, including students and adults, think the time school begins is very important, but they disagree on the start time. The time school starts is an important issue especially at AHS because a lot of students are tardy on a regular basis to first block, and one solution to that problem could be to delay what time we start school. Some think 8:30 (the current AHS start time) is too late, but others think it's too early. My view is that school should start at a later time in the day.

If school started at 9:30 it would give the brain more time to rest. For us students it's more than just school. We have jobs, and some do sports or after school clubs. So necessarily students get home late as it is, and this doesn't include doing homework and eating. Allowing school to start at 9:30 would give students more time to wake up and get their day started so they can come to school well rested and ready to learn. According to Washington University, “The students who reported the most stable, consistent sleep patterns earned a GPA of 3.66, on average, while the students with the most variable sleep earned a GPA of 3.21. Students with regular sleep patterns also reported higher levels of well-being.” Pushing school back would allow students to have time to form a stable schedule so they can make sure they are well rested for the next day. 

AHS attendance would definitely approve as a whole if the time of school was to be pushed back. Most of the time a student misses school because they don't want to go because you have to wake up so early. According to NEA Today, who summarize the results of recent research, “In their study, McKeever and Clark looked at 29 high schools across seven states, comparing attendance and graduation rates before and after the schools implemented a delayed starting time. The average graduation rate jumped from 79% to 88%, and the average attendance rate went from 90% to 94%.” If delaying the time that school start has helped other schools and students across the country, it can help AHS just as much. 

A third reason why a later school start time is a good idea is because it gives the brain more time to rest and wake itself up, and research shows that a rested brain results in better learning.  Grades are the most important part of school; it’s why we are even here. Delaying the start to school would improve grades. When you first wake up in the morning you're still trying to even process the fact that you are awake, while also getting ready and prepared for school. Scientists call this “morning brain,” and it’s like a foggy state that we are in for a while before we fully wake up.  It would be so much better to give our developing minds time to wake up so we can be ready to learn. According to PubMed Central’s report on the findings of a recent study, “Both class activity and class time are reflected in adolescents' brain states in a real-world setting, and corroborate educational research suggesting that mid-morning may be the best time to learn.” This information shows us that the best thing for AHS to do is to push the time school starts back so that kids’ brains are truly awakened. The alternative is to have kids wake up way earlier than school starts, and I don’t see that happening. 

Although most students love this idea, other AHS students say we shouldn't delay school an hour, because we would get out an hour later; it would cause a interruption of the normalized schedule we already have made as students apart of AHS.

Considering we have normalized the schedule we have at AHS, we have also found the need to normalize missing school and being late. As a generation we have built bad habits like missing school and coming into school late: Pushing the time of AHS school start time back a hour would encourage our students to come to school more knowing we don't have to wake up as early, and we can build a better more helpful schedule for our minds and mental health.

A current student-athlete, Jonathan B., felt heavy on the matter and had this to say, “ I think AHS should push school back an hour because it would help my brain function fully, knowing it's very hard for me to even function in the morning, not to mention I would love to get up later. I feel as though I would be happier during the school day and rested ready to learn.”

Your regular student driver from AHS, Kobly H., agrees with school being pushed back and said, “I think that the school day being delayed by an hour would be helpful in many aspects. I would have the option if I wanted to wake up at the crack of dawn or not. I could give my car time to warm up properly and not have to rush. We can also wake up early and do things before school if we need to and not worry about being late, and we don't get that now.”

To close out this article, let me reiterate: AHS would be a much better experience if the time to school got pushed back. If you feel strongly about this matter or any relating to it, I encourage you to start a petition and make some changes for what you want and believe in. How we learn, when we learn, and especially how we feel about it is important; we will be heard because we are the future.