If the school board expects us to do our best in the classroom-then why are they depriving us of our sleep?  Some school administrators may claim that they are preparing us for a job where you have to show up every day at a certain time but depending on what job you do you can at least somewhat, control your hours.  Kids and teens need at least 8 hours of sleep a night, but some students find that number hard to meet because they have things going on outside of school. What if a student had a big game they need to play in, do you expect them to give up something they love so they can get up an hour early for school?  Studies about sleep deprivation in teens show, “Sleep deprivation can sometimes mimic or exacerbate symptoms of ADHD, including distractibility, impulsivity, and difficulty with effortful control of attention”. (Schoolstarttime.org). Lack of sleep often interferes with a student's ability to learn and get work done by making it hard to focus because their attention span shortens. The amount of sleep you get can also affect your grades as stated in this article by Nymag.com,“ Dr. Kyla Wahlstrom of the University of Minnesota surveyed more than 7,000 high schoolers in Minnesota about their sleep habits and grades. Teens who received A’s averaged about fifteen more minutes sleep than the B students, who in turn averaged eleven more minutes than the C’s, and the C’s had ten more minutes than the D’s...”  Students work hard enough in the classroom as it is, many students spend their days taking notes and tests or even putting an extensive amount of work into a project, and if they don't get enough rest when they get home then that can cost them an A.  

Another pro of starting school later is that middle schoolers and high schoolers would be less reliant on drugs like Adderall and caffeine.  If you drink caffeine too late in the day it could interfere with your natural sleep patterns and melatonin levels by introducing new chemicals too you're brain late at night, making it harder and harder to fall asleep.  Sleepiness can alter someone's focus so too counter that, some adolescents start taking medicine like Adderall to help keep them alert, but this use can more often than not lead to an addiction. In 6th grade school starts at 8:00 am, one hour after we do at Lebanon Junior High.  Even though the 6th-grade students are younger, we all still need the same amount of sleep. Even into adulthood, it is not healthy for your mind nor your body to lack sleep.  Also, a one hour time jump for a new wake-up time is a very large adjustment to make over the span of one summer. All schools in our district and even around the country should start at least half an hour to an hour later in the day.  It would not only benefit students but faculty as well. Recent sleep studies showed, “...poor sleep is linked to increased reliance on caffeine, tobacco, and alcohol. They also discovered a link between sleep deprivation and poor academic performance. 

Sleep deprivation has also been linked to an increased risk of car accidents in teens.”  (VeryWell family). Keeping teens safe while driving is a major priority especially since mobile phones have become such a big distraction.  Even if you are not on your phone you are still at risk of an accident if you are tired-you are three times more likely to be in a car crash if you are fatigued because your response time is dampened.  If the school board has the kid's best interests at heart, why are they putting them in so much danger?

Simply going to bed earlier isn't helping teens get enough rest, according to an article posted by neaToday, the chemical melatonin which is responsible for drowsiness, doesn't start being produced for teens until later in the night. While turning in early may help some teenagers, it does not help them all.  If schools start later in the day, one fear is that kids will stay up later. And while that may be true melatonin doesn't kick in until later in the night-so if schools start later then that will be giving kids more restoring deep, and REM sleep.    

Although some may argue that changing school hours may negatively affect parent work hours, Kara Voght recently wrote in The Atlantic that because of the school start and release times,“that leaves a gap of unsupervised time for many children, forcing their parents to find affordable care for their kid or too adjust their own working schedule.” (Kara Voght The Atlantic).  This shows that many parents are needing to spend extra money to cope with their kid’s schooling schedule. Parents would be a lot better off if school started and ended later so they would not have to hire a caregiver for their children in the afternoon while they are still at work.

    In conclusion, schools around the country should be started later in the day-even just one hour can have positive impacts on academic performance and the safety of students. Stand with me and help make this necessary change take effect.