I am a student at Boothbay Region High School. Due to COVID-19, social distancing rules necessitate two bus runs instead of one. Therefore, students of BRHS arrive at 9 a.m. rather than the traditional start time of 7:45 a.m. Next year, even if the pandemic is over, I propose that we keep the 9 a.m. start time, as it offers many benefits for our students.

The Sleep Foundation recommends teens get 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night: “...getting this recommended amount of sleep can help teens maintain their physical health, emotional well-being, and school performance.” It’s also proven to help grades on standardized tests. Education Next compares test scores of students ages 8-15 and finds that, “...later school start times increase student achievement on standardized tests in both math and reading.” However, in order to get the recommended hours of sleep, you would have to go to bed around 9 p.m. to be up by 6 a.m. for school. According to Kids Health, “During adolescence, the body's circadian rhythm (sort of like an internal biological clock) is reset, telling a teen to fall asleep later at night and wake up later...” As a result, many students go to school sleep-deprived. This can cause students to be absent, even to experience depression.

When school started at 7:45 a.m., almost everyday I would go to school late. It affected my grades the most as absenteeism leads to late work and lower grades. When we started later, during the first period, instead of struggling to keep my eyes open, I felt alert and ready to learn.

When talking to BRHS Principal Tricia Campbell, I asked her how she would feel about extending the 9 a.m. start time into next year, even when the pandemic is over. She agreed that “many teachers at BRHS have shared that they felt that students are more school ready and engaged when given a little more sleep and wake up time in the morning.” However, she believes that the later start time conflicts with athletic and Bath Vocational programs, as well as requiring two bus runs which means paying the bus drivers more.

When coming up with a plan, I got in touch with Mr. Ben Powell, a math teacher at BRHS. He thinks a 9 a.m. start time wouldn’t conflict with either Bath Voc or our athletic programs. Mr. Powell has already come up with a plan, much like our schedule now: We would have a morning study hall where students can come in and get extra help. Classes would start at 9 a.m., being 72 minutes long which is the same amount of time as before COVID-19. 

There is one potential obstacle, which both Mrs. Campbell and Mr.Powell mention: “You would need two bus runs ... which costs extra money since the bus drivers are working more hours.” Therefore, the school committee would have to agree to spend extra money to pay the bus drivers; however, Mr.Powell doesn’t think it would be a lot of money.

With help from English teacher Mr. Mark Gorey and Mr. Ben Powell, I sent out a survey to all the BRHS students. The survey asked the students whether they felt more rested and ready for school at 9 a.m. vs 7:45 a.m. Out of 83 students, 89% said “yes.” I also asked whether they believe we should continue the later start time to next year: 91% said “yes.” I asked what the students liked about the later start time, and one said, “I don’t feel anywhere near as tired and I can listen a lot easier…”; another said, “I get more sleep especially when I have a lot of homework and sports." I also asked the students what they disliked about the later start date; there were a few outlier responses, but the overwhelming majority said they didn’t dislike anything about it.

Other Maine schools such as the Westbrook district have adopted a later start time (Bridgers). For a small increase in money, we could do this too, so that our students’ absence rates decrease, and we come to school well-rested and ready to learn!

Works Cited

Bridgers, L. (2012, May 23). "Westbrook students may start their day a bit later: The school committee tonight will consider pushing back class times for older students by 20 minutes. Portland Press Herald Retrieved from http://libraries.maine.edu/mainedatabases/authmaine.asp?url=http://search.proquest.com/newspapers/westbrook-students-may-start-their-day-bit-later/docview/1015375638/se-2?accountid=17222

Gupta, R. C. (Ed.). (2014, August). "Common Sleep Problems (for Teens)." Nemours KidsHealth. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/teens/sleep.html#

Heissel, J., By, Norris, J. H., Heissel, J., Norris, S., Bio, J. H., . . . Bio, S. N. (2020, December 17). "Rise and Shine." Retrieved from https://www.educationnext.org/rise-shine-how-school-start-times-affect-academic-performance/

"Sleep for Teenagers." (2020, December 11). Retrieved from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep