Liverpool — The Liverpool Central School District took another step in the right direction last week when the board of education agreed to further examine the possibility of having high school classes start later in the morning.
The process began this past fall, when the district convened a committee to weigh the pros and cons of such a move. At the BOE’s Jan. 11 meeting, the committee recommended that the district move forward with the change. Next, the board will convene another committee to look at the logistics of the move before it decides whether it will make the change.
Undoubtedly, our teens aren’t getting enough sleep. Experts say they need eight to nine hours a night; many surveyed say they get closer to six or seven. Given the load of after-school jobs, extracurricular activities, homework and other obligations, one of the easiest ways to help them get more sleep is to push back the time they need to wake up by starting schools later.
The science on sleep is clear. According to studies examined by an LCSD teacher cohort who examined school start times, teens who don’t get enough sleep face a number of consequences, including the following:
- Increased obesity
- Hypertension
- Risk of stroke
- Nonmedical use of stimulants
- Cognitive deficits
- Increased vulnerability to stress
- Decreased motivation
- Deficits in abstract thinking
- Increased risk of depression
- Lower academic achievement
- Poor school attendance
- Increased dropout rate
It’s become such a concern that the American Academy of Pediatrics released a paper on the subject in 2014 recommending that middle and high schools shift to later start times: “Studies comparing high schools with start times as little as 30 minutes earlier versus those with later start times demonstrate such adverse consequences as shorter sleep duration, increased sleepiness, difficulty concentrating, behavior problems and absenteeism.”
Currently, Liverpool High School’s first bus pickup is at 6:45 a.m.; classes start at 7:45 a.m. But they’re not the only district to have kids at the bus stop before sunup. Cicero-North Syracuse, whose superintendent has said the district is not looking at earlier start times right now, has its first pickup at 6:22 a.m.; Baldwinsville’s is at 6:20 a.m. Based on those times and the recommendation that teens get eight to nine hours of sleep a night, building in time to eat breakfast and get ready in the morning, kids would have to go to bed as early as 9 p.m. But Liverpool is the only one looking at moving school start times, despite mounting evidence that doing so is in the best interest of its students.
continued — There are obviously downsides to moving start times. It will impact athletic practices and games. It will impact parents who count on their older children to provide care for their younger children. It will impact teens who have after-school jobs. The transition will not be an easy one. But we’re talking about the health and well-being of our students. As such, it’s a possibility that, at the very least, deserves to be investigated.
Liverpool is at the forefront of a major shift in education. It’s imperative that others follow suit so that all of Central New York’s students can benefit.
