- Target:
- Millard Public Schools
- Region:
- United States of America
When children reach the age of adolescence, they begin to have a delayed sleep-wake cycle. Teenagers begin to naturally secrete melatonin around 11 PM, and naturally begin to wake up at 8 AM; about the time school starts right now for most high schoolers; but they still need a full 9 hours of sleep. Having less sleep leads to many negative mental and physical impacts including increased obesity, diabetes type 2, motor vehicle crashes, caffeine consumption, anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, poor impulse control, decreased motivation, poor attendance, and increased dropout rates, soda consumption, involvement in physical fights along with an increase in the use of cigarettes, marijuana, and alcohol, as well as the use of computers for over 3 hours which, according to studies done by Yale, can lead to disruption and distraction in class. Statistically, a significant percentage of students were found to experience daytime sleepiness, struggling to stay awake during class, feeling too tired to do homework, falling asleep during class, arriving late, taking extra naps, and requiring assistance to wake up in the morning. (https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-education/moec/_files/FinalResearchBrief_Grachek.pdf)
Proper sleep is vital to health and mental development in adolescents
Allowing students to get more sleep would help them academically, mentally, and it would increase the economy and safety of this community. If middle and high school students are allowed to wake up later in the morning, they’ll be more focused during the day, more alert behind the wheel and less likely to be late to (or absent from) school.
Petition to School Board President Mike Pate in support of changing school start times at Millard Public Schools.
Dear School Board President Mike Pate:
As parents, educators, students, and members of the school community, we urge you to change the school start times at Millard Public Schools, switching the elementary, middle and high school start times. We ask that you simply change the order of which school starts first, so elementary schools would enter the earliest, at 7:45 and end at 3; with middle school starting at 8 and ending at 3:15; and high school starting at 8:30 and ending at 3:45. We ask that you simply switch around the school start and end times, not impacting the bus schedule or traffic very much because of the system already set in place.
When children reach the age of adolescence, they begin to have a delayed sleep-wake cycle. Teenagers begin to naturally secrete melatonin around 11 PM, and naturally begin to wake up at 8 AM; about the time school starts right now for most high schoolers. School is no longer a place to drop your children off while going to work, now it is a pathway for a better life and a door to opportunity for many kids and families around the country. Allowing students to get more sleep would help them academically, mentally, and it would increase the economy and safety of this community. This would also decrease absences and the number of kids sleeping through class, as well as increasing their academic scores and standardized test scores. We are worried our children are affected by the lack of sleep and how it's going to affect their future.
We, the undersigned, strongly urge you to change the start times of the schools, benefiting not only our children but this community as a whole. We promise to help you in your efforts to help protect our children’s health.
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