| Later Start Times: Magic Bullet for Success? |
| posted by: Cindy Omlin | March 18, 2013, 11:37 PM |
|
A recent study of 146,000 middle school students in Wake County, North Carolina found that when school start times were pushed back by an hour, student test scores improved by 3% on average. While the sample was relatively small, the 2007 National Youth at Risk-Behavior Survey from the Center for Disease Control concluded that "for every hour of reduced sleep, the increase in crime was greater and the level of violence is greater still,"said Ann Gallagher, a principal investigator. Data suggests that well-rested students are less likely to cause trouble and more likely to make academic progress. In light of this compelling evidence, schools in Maryland, Virginia, and Missouri are moving to mandate later start times. After almost fifteen years of discussion, schools in Arlington, Virginia now start an hour later. In February, the Maryland chapter of Start School Laterpetitioned start time to begin at 8:15 or later. Similarly, in Columbia, Missouri a grassroots effort led by Student's Say, successfully lobbied to delay start times from 7:30am to 9am. "We need to start the premise that 'it must be done,' said Terry Ziporyn Snider, a medical writer, historian, and co-founder of Start School Later. "The science is now at a point where start times could really be changed, but it requires community involvement." Sleep deprivation is known to be harmful; however, it is especially dangerous for adolescents, whose bodies require more sleep than adults or young children. According to the National Sleep Foundation, adolescents who do not get adequate sleep experience problems such as impaired alertness and attention, inability to solve problems, cope with stress, and retain information. Too little sleep is also related to substance abuse and depression. Sleep changes in adolescents is "kind of a perfect-storm scenario," said Dr. Judith Owens, the director of sleep medicine at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, with many factors "basically conspiring to increase the risks of insufficient sleep in this population." Owens continued, "Teenagers have erratic sleep cycles, and they try to overcompensate during the weekend to 'make up' for lost sleep, but the cycle just keeps going. They're in a semi-permanent state of jet lag." The evidence, according to Dr. Owens, "is irrefutable. It's up to the community to decide whether to act on" it." Do you think schools should start later? Does your school's start time have an impact on student success?
Comment below. Originally posted by Ruthie at AAE.
email to friend
Print
comment
Permalink
Comments (0)
 You must be logged in to post a comment. Please register if you do not have an account yet.
|
