School Days: Earlier or Later Start Time?

The Benefits of Starting School Earlier

By: Kylie Pavlick, Freshman Staff Writer

The Benefits of Starting School Later

By: Jordan DeRoide, Freshman Staff Writer

Starting school earlier means ending the school day earlier.  As a result, students will be able to free up time and get involved in more sports, have more time for hobbies and catch up on sleep. An earlier start time will make it easier for parents to get their students to school on time and not have to rush to work. Although students might struggle getting to school on time because most tend to stay up late and are always in a rush, this will allow students to go home sooner and make up some of that lost sleep.

An earlier school day improves the mind of young students because it allows them more time to go over their work and provides more time to study for a test. In addition, more time spent on studying can roll over into other important skills like problem-solving, learning experiences, time management, even creativity!

Knowing students have to be up earlier, will most likely motivate students to go to bed earlier.  Most teens do not get enough sleep, causing their bodies to shut down throughout the day and prompting many teens to drink energy drinks on a daily basis. This creates a whole new health concern, as energy drinks have been known to cause adverse effects on the body.  If students can regulate their sleep schedule better with an earlier start time, it could prove beneficial for teens’ health. 

Not only is an earlier start time advantageous for teens, but it can be helpful for parents as well. Many parents leave the house early for work. If their child does not need to be at school until after 8, that might present a transportation conflict, especially if getting on the bus is not an option. 

While an earlier start time may not be favorable to the night owls and those who prefer to sleep in, the benefits of starting your day earlier seem to outweigh the benefits of starting later. More productivity, and a healthier well-being can go a long way! So, rise and shine, school is about to start! 

Researchers suggest that schools should start later to provide teens with more sleep, because more sleep can lead to significant health and academic benefits. When students get enough rest, they are more focused and not half-asleep in class, which helps them work faster and participate more actively. In northern Virginia, one school experienced a change in school start time. One student explained that before their school had a schedule change, they often fell asleep on the bus and were not fully awake until after the first period ended. After the start time was changed from a 6:30 a.m. bus pickup to an 8:10 a.m. start, the student noticed a major difference and said they were finally alert enough to focus and complete their work during the first period. 

Wallkill students also recognize the benefits of starting school later. Junior Rihanna Follmer shared her opinion on the issue, “I think schools should start later. At 7:30 a.m. a lot of people’s minds aren't ready to work. Some students just aren't ready, or they are too tired." Some people struggle to get to school on time with the current start time. Rihanna points out the difficult cycle that results from beginning the school day so early.  "Since school starts at 7:30 a.m., that means students have to get up at 5-6 a.m. in order to get to school on time." She expressed how tiresome this routine can become. “By the time I get home from school, I almost immediately have to go to work, and then I get home late and have to do a ton of homework. I end up going to bed late and then getting up really early for school. It repeats everyday, and it becomes exhausting. I think that if so much work wasn't assigned, and if we didn't have to get up so early, more people would have more motivation to do work, and it would help them get better grades.”

Later start times also help students who drive to school; leaving the house at 7 a.m. in the winter time means tired and inexperienced drivers on winter roads. Leaving the house at 8 a.m., for example, means students are more awake and will be able to focus on the road. 

In the end, starting school later can greatly improve students’ health, safety, and academic performance. When teens are given the chance to get enough sleep, they come to school more alert, more prepared, and more motivated to learn. Real experiences from students show how early start times create stress, exhaustion, and unsafe routines that affect both their grades and their well-being. By adjusting school start times even just a little later, schools can create a healthier environment that allows students to succeed and feel more balanced in their daily lives. 

Source: The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation