Heather Macintosh
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On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
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On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
Heather Macintosh
1:51 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
Odenton, speaking of fallacies, the suggestion you're making fits the definition of "Nirvana Fallacy" or "the perfect is the enemy of the good." According to sleep experts, a more IDEAL time to start high school is 10:30 or 11 am or later but try getting that one past the local school board. What we are trying to accomplish is a more REALISTIC change leading to an improvement - not a solution. Maybe we're all on the same page here?
Don't we agree that if kids could get closer to the recommended hours of sleep each night, and start school in daylight, they would be healthier, happier and better able to learn? If we agree on that, we can talk about how to get there.
Even local school boards in in this region has been quoted as saying "if it were easy, everyone would be doing it." So it's not easy, and the solution might not be perfection, but can we agree we need to try?
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On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
Heather Macintosh
9:39 am on Friday, May 24, 2013
George,
I'm glad your younger children haven't experienced the sleep shift that adolescents and teens do and that causes them so much trouble getting the recommended hours of sleep with the current school schedule. As many of us find out through first-hand experience or by listening to experts in the field of sleep and health, once this shift happens, the early wake-up times cause a building sleep debt throughout the week that adds up to a full night of sleep by the time the weekend comes. Every week!
This is not an issue of bad parenting or moral failure, or Time Management. Please look at this group of studies to see why we believe that a later school start time translates to a proportional GAIN in sleep for our kids every night. http://schoolstarttime.org/delaying-school-start-times/will-students-squander-opportunity-extra-sleep/There are many possible solutions to this problem that would create a healthier sleep/life balance for our kids. Many come with no cost, low cost, or a cost that this article suggests is worthwhile evaluating. At least let's have this conversation to see if we can do better.
Many of the questions raised in comments here are addressed on this page of our website - because they are typically the first questions people have when thinking through the ramifications of making a change like this. http://www.startschoollater.net/myths-and-misconceptions.html#answer4
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On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
Heather Macintosh
9:28 am on Friday, May 24, 2013
Buck Harmon,
Maybe you would like to write a posting on Patch about nutrition and schools. The school start time issue is the focus of this article and it would be helpful if you would honor that. -
On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
Heather Macintosh
8:40 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
Reply to Casey Cosgrove (continued)
Yes, the Hamilton report mentioned above suggests two other top reforms and pursuing one doesn't preclude pursuing others. Very early school start times are a public health problem and must become a high priority for our school systems.The costs / negative impacts mentioned by AACPS study raising multiple concerns that after school jobs, sports will suffer have been dis-proved by studies such as Edina-Minneapolis, Arlington County, Loudoun County and more. Options for no-cost transportation changes that have been devised by many school systems (eg. Arlington) show that these high transportation dollar amounts are NOT a given. Also, general fears that society will crumble have been disproven in many districts (see above list). Have a look at the study documenting five years of impacts on the school systems in Edina and Minneapolis, MN following the change to a later start time. http://www.cehd.umn.edu/carei/publications/documents/Bulletin200212Wahlstrom.pdf
Positive results are well-accepted by most experts and policy-makers at this time. Please see the following websites for more information: http://startschoollater.pbworks.com/w/page/58217472/Start%20School%20Later%20Reference%20List
http://schoolstarttime.org/
http://healthysleep.med.harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/learning-memory -
On the Blog Post Early School Start Times: High Cost of Status Quo
Heather Macintosh
8:09 am on Monday, May 20, 2013
Thank you for your questions. Those of us who support a later school start time care about children and want to remove barriers to their learning and also improve their health, safety, and well-being. School systems raise the red flag of increased cost for busing without considering these other costs. I am simply pointing out that an even-handed discussion of costs would consider these other budget items and that the bottom line decision should always be based on what is best for children.
As far as the school services mentioned, if the studies are to be believed the rates of drop-out, tardy, graduation, depression, anxiety, attendance and academic performance all improved so fewer of these services would be needed. Wouldn't we want to improve these rates for the sake of students' health and success?
Your question about high school students being able to be left alone for a few hours: The time between dismissal and parents arriving home is considered a "high-risk window" for adolescent students and the cost of risky behaviors is also one that is borne by the community in terms of policing juvenile crime, substance abuse and results of these choices.Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 Statistics (show that serious violent crime committed by juveniles peaks in the hours immediately after the close of school.) http://www.ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/nr2006/downloads/chapter3.pdf (continued..)
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On the article Architectural Historian Orlando Ridout Dies at Age 59
Heather Macintosh
9:10 am on Thursday, April 11, 2013
ReplyI am so sorry to hear that! Orlando was one of our champions in saving the Downtown Annapolis playground for future generations of neighborhood and school children. What a loss. My sympathies to his family and friends.
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On the Blog Post Sports Injuries and School Start Times - Doing the Math
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On the article Movement to Change School Times Lands in Howard County
Heather Macintosh
8:52 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
ReplyGreat conversation!
What if we re-imagined school, forgot about what WE used to do, and put all of our pre-conceived notions aside. Would we design it exactly as it is today? Are there any ways we can improve upon the education our adolecscents and teenagers receive?
I would personally like to see my middle school child have recess & a chance to run around outdoors. I would rather if teachers didn't resort to yelling - ever. It would be great if there were more electives, less busy-work, less waiting for other kids to catch up, more child-driven & exploratory learning.
I would prefer if decisions about the school day schedule were set by educators who looked at scientific research spanning over 20 years that indicates children post-puberty experience a sleep phase shift that makes a 5:30 a.m. wake-up call for them the equivalent of a 3:30 a.m. wake-up call for me. I don't function well without the recommended sleep for my age, and I don't believe kids do either. For my high schooler to get 9.25 hours of sleep on a school night and still catch the bus on time, she would have to be asleep at 8:00 p.m.
It's an out-moded schedule that needs to be re-imagined.
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On the article Anne Arundel Delegates to Introduce Bill on School Safety
Heather Macintosh
2:30 pm on Tuesday, January 15, 2013
ReplyAny legislation that deals with safety and mental health for our school students needs to take a holistic approach and include a safe and healthy school start time. The links between early school start times and student safety before and after school, behavior and mood while in school, risky decision-making, depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation have been clearly outlined to AACPS board and administration. Shifting to a safer and healthier start to the school day could be one of the most effective changes we could make in improving all of these risk factors and more. www.startschoollater.net
Heather Macintosh
4:46 pm on Saturday, May 25, 2013
For people who would like more information about why this is important -- even in districts that have high academic standing, please visit www.startschoollater.net. You will find links to peer-reviewed research, testimony from professionals in the fields of health and education, and contact information for local chapters and partners working to bring about change to a healthier school schedule for all kids. Start School Later is an all-volunteer, national grassroots group founded in Maryland.