Do you wake up tired and unable to function, struggling to face anything before your morning coffee and fully wake up? The students at the Boothbay Region High School feel the same way. This spring, the school’s principal, Dr. Tricia Campbell, has decided to move the “Academy period” from early morning to an undetermined time midday and last for 66 minutes. The current Academy period is not mandatory for all students to attend; however, if a teacher needs to meet with a student, they can meet from 8 to 8:47 a.m. unless the teacher who “tagged” them allows the student to move to a different room. The Academy period allows students to get a productive start to the day in many ways and there are many reasons students feel it should not be moved to a time later in the day, but it also allows students to sleep in if they are already doing well. Research shows that more sleep improves student life. I'm advocating for the return to the current Academy schedule.

Academy gives students who are tagged the opportunity to make up missed, late, or failed work before they have that class again. This is especially helpful in shop-type classes, where a student cannot move forward with the class if they miss a day's work. I have done this many times when I knew I would be missing multiple days, or if I was getting dismissed before the class actually occurred. There are also many students who choose to come to school a bit earlier to complete some last-minute homework before the start of the first period.

According to the 50 students surveyed on this issue, many thought the period would not be as beneficial in the middle of the day, one saying anonymously, “Academy at the middle of [the] day seems useless for all parties involved. Students wouldn't be able to complete their work for the two morning periods, and they would be unable to sleep in.” If the period got moved to the middle of the day, it would occur after half of students’ classes. This prevents students from getting help with work before their morning classes and takes away the possibility of completing work that would be missed if a student got dismissed early. The period also gives students who have accommodations in their IEPs or 504 plans the ability to present in front of a smaller, alternative audience.

The decision to keep the Academy period in the morning should not only be decided by student opinions, however. There have been many scientific studies conducted over the years to determine whether later school start times can increase the health, focus, and productivity of students. Referencing a 2021 study published in the National Library of Medicine, regarding the relationship between school start times, sleep duration, and mental health among high school students in Colorado, researchers found that students' mental health was better at schools with a later start time. Of the almost 47,000 students surveyed, researchers found 32% of students got more sleep at night when attending a late-start school. They also discovered that students attending schools which started before 8:30 a.m. were 10-11% more likely to consider attempting suicide than those who attended schools starting after 8:30 a.m.

Our school administration, however, believes that the new “Seahawk Block” will provide more equitable opportunities for students. One argument is that students who take the bus are unable to take advantage of the possible sleeping in that other students utilize. Another argument is that students who attend morning classes at the Bath Vocational School are unable to access the resources available during the Academy period. Additionally, some CSD school committee members are also concerned that both students and teachers aren’t fully utilizing the time. If this issue is revisited in the future, Dr. Campell believes, “We can have discussions for a District wide PreK-12th, AOS98 late start so that there can be resources and supports provided to all students and families so that it is equitable for all.”

While I recognize the issues regarding inequities in the schedule, I ultimately believe that a solution that benefits the student body as a whole would be to change Academy back to how it has been these last few years. The later start time provides many opportunities to students and has been scientifically proven to benefit them. One of the reasons behind the decision was students not showing up when required to; however, that was only a small group and many feel that the rest of the students should still have their opportunities: “It is definitely frustrating when it seems like everyone gets punished for the actions of a few students who don't follow the rules,” said Ms. Hanley, our AOS 98 Gifted and Talented Coordinator, when I interviewed her. One way to combat teacher concerns regarding students not showing up when scheduled is by enforcing the punishments set up for those who skip class.

In my opinion, and ultimately the opinion of many of the students, the current Academy system is far more beneficial than the Seahawk Block and I believe that the change made by the BRHS administration should be reversed.