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School Start Times

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In today’s society, the motto is “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” This is nowhere more apparent than in the current start times of our schools. According to the Department of Education Statistics, the average high school in the United States starts at 7:59 A.M. Within the last century, researchers have proved that delaying the start times of schools can lead to many benefits among teenagers, including improved academic performance, improved health, reduced caffeine consumption, lower accident rates, and reduced criminal offenses. However, the effort involved in implementing delay is unbelievably complex, in spite of the benefit to students.
Improvement in Academic Performance
One area that benefits from …show more content…
It is estimated that about one million of all car crashes in the United States each year are caused by a lapse of judgment. It is also shown that drivers twenty-five years or younger are responsible for more than half of these incidents (“Adolescent Sleep Needs and Patterns”).
In a study of Virginia public schools, researchers compared the number of adolescent automotive accidents of two Virginia school districts, each composed of similar demographics. The start times of the two districts, however, were varied. Virginia Beach schools started classes at 7:20 A.M., whereas Chesapeake schools began later at 8:40 A.M. “While the overall accident rate for all drivers was higher in Virginia Beach, the difference between teens in the two cities was stark,” said author Dr. Robert Vorona. “Chesapeake had 46.2 crashes for every 1,000 teen drivers, compared to 65.4 per 1,000 teen drivers in Virginia Beach—a 41% difference” …show more content…
Any delay in start times will correspond to a delay in end times. Opponents claim this may result in increased competition for facilities; as well as the cancellation of some programs. Also, it is argued, student athletes would be forced to leave class early in order to attend practice.
Contrary to this belief, many schools have experienced few problems with regards to athletics. According to the National Sleep Foundation, many schools simply reschedule practice times. In some cases, schools install additional lighting systems so that practices can run later. Match times are also rescheduled, so that students do not have to choose between attending practice and participating in class.
Connected to this concern is student employment at after-school jobs. Opponents argue that with delayed start times, the number of hours worked by students after school would decrease. This would be especially damaging to lower-income families; many of whom rely on the extra income. Most employers indicate, however, that delayed start times have little to no effect on their business or the number of hours worked by their adolescent

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