Studies show that a delay in the beginning of the school day benefits students and teachers.
Schools are encouraged to delay the school start time to 8:30 a.m. or later because it aligns with the sleep patterns of teenagers.
Some teachers, however, think that high school times should be earlier to have the rest of the day to do other activities.
“I think that high school hours should start at 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.,” Mr. Patrick Riley, CTE teacher, said. “The class periods should be about 45 minutes at the most. If young adults are able to get up early, they should be able to get out early.”
“School hours should be changed to start at 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.,” Mr. Chase Hall, gym teacher, said. “I am an early bird. It will allow students to get their work done earlier, and if they play a sport, they will get out of practice earlier. Getting out of school early will allow for more afternoon time.”
Other teachers prefer to have later school times to help students catch up on sleep.
“School should start between 8:45 a.m. and 9 a.m. and end around 3:20 p.m.,” Ms. Shandie Johnson, SPED teacher, said. “This gives children more hours to sleep; especially for those who spend more time with extracurricular activities such as sports.
“For the current generation, I believe that school should start at 8:30 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.,” Mr. Adam Tate, CTE teacher, said. “I think that this generation struggles to get up in the morning. However, you do not want to start too late in the day as the attention span of students drop the later we get into the day.”
Teachers prefer to keep the same time because it has been this way for many years now.
“I like the time that school starts and ends now,” Mrs. Rachel Corwin, English teacher, said. “It isn’t too early, but it gives me time at home in the morning. People with kids, such as myself, need time to prepare them for school. Some students function better later in the day, but we have to be adaptable.”
“Starting at 7:50 a.m. and ending at 3:11 p.m. is good for me,” Ms. Tara Stafford, science teacher, said. “I am an early bird. I would rather start early and get out early to have the rest of the day to do other things like run errands.”
