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School Start Later

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The issue being presented is that schools start times should be changed to be later so that students can get adequate sleep, school administration does not believe that this should be changed. The school arrival policy at O'neill should be changed for at least one day of the week because it would promote productivity and morale of the students at James I O'neill High School.

According to the National Sleep Foundation a study on the effects of sleep deprivation by Wolfson & Carskadon in 1998. “Sleep deprivation impairs the ability to be alert” being alert is very important especially to teens in high school with a good portion of the students driving to school being alert while driving is like lesson one of driver's education,”pay attention, …show more content…
The title is U.S Doctors Urge Later School Start Times For Teens. The post is based on a Statement The American Academy of Pediatric. The statement recommended that middle and high schools Should change their start times to no earlier than 8:30 because adolescents have unique sleep rhythms that make it harder for them to go to sleep and wake up earlier than other people. “Teens have sleep-wake cycles that can be two hours later than everybody else and that starting school too early is a key factor to chronic sleep deprivation among adolescents”. “Sleep researchers have said for years that most teens can’t easily fall asleep until about 11 p.m., experts say, and their brains stay in sleep mode until at least 8 a.m.”.The National Sleep Foundation informs us that teens need about 9 1/4 hours of sleep each night to function best.Only about 15 percent of U.S. high schools start at 8:30 a.m. or later, and about 40 percent start before 8 a.m.. Some school districts that have implemented a later start time have reported benefits of improved academic performance and a decrease in tardiness. There is proof that this works and frankly schools rely on test scores what if this increased test scores? A statement from Judith Owens the lead author of the new policy statement as saying “Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today. The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life. Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.”
Some quotes from the Boston Globe from

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