It’s about the science.
And, according to Ohio County Board of Education member Molly Aderholt, the science that proves her point has been well documented and is readily available.
For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published this article:
At the very beginning of the article, the author states:
Not getting enough sleep is common among high school students and is associated with several health risks including being overweight, drinking alcohol, smoking tobacco, and using drugs, as well as poor academic performance. One of the reasons adolescents do not get enough sleep is early school start times.
And then there is this article published two years ago by Psychology Today:
Dr. Valerie Crabtree, the author, states that:
As a sleep researcher and the mother of two teenage boys, I applaud California for recently becoming the first state in the nation to require later school start times at most public high schools and middle schools. This will go a long way to solving an ignored public health crisis: that millions of American school students are suffering from sleep deprivation.
Aderholt has read many more studies involving the physical and mental health issues that are immediately connected to sleep deprivation, the condition teachers and counselors witness each morning while students fall asleep during the first two class period of the day.
“This is a topic I have been reading about for years and well before I ever considered running for the Board of Education because I’ve always been interested in what is healthiest for my family as a whole,” the board member explained. “When I first joined the Board, every other member seemed interested in taking a good look at starting classes at Wheeling Park High School a little later than what we do now because of the difference it likely would make with our students’ academic performance.
“The research, I believe, is very clear that starting high school later in the morning is best and that is defined by the American Academy of Pediatrics and several other national organizations. They’ve all come out in favor of later start times,” Aderholt continued. “And they have recommended that high school should begin at 8:30 a.m. or later, and that is based on an adolescent’s sleep rhythm. Their circadian rhythm is just different than ours and it is clear that it’s true when you see so many students sleeping in class.”
In the Dark
The first class at Wheeling Park High School begins at 7:25 a.m. only after the early morning bus ride to the hilltop complex and the first breakfast service of the day.
The issue, according to Aderholt, is the age of the students in grades nine through 12th.
“The science is there that states it’s all about that stage in our lives and the development that is taking place with our brains and our bodies,” Aderholt said. “That’s why it’s really impossible to compare their sleep patterns to ours because it’s just not the same. One article stated that an adolescent waking up at 5:30 a.m. to get ready for school is like an adult getting up each day at 3 a.m., and I do not know a single adult who enjoys that sleep pattern.
“That’s why I feel, while we look into this issue, we should look into the negative consequences for our kids, and there are a lot. Basically, it has caused an epidemic of sleep deprivation involving high school students,” she said. “That epidemic likely has caused mental health issues, obesity, diabetes, a lack of mental focus, and that is why we have seen school systems across the country alter the start times for their high school students.”
The final class period of the day ends at 2:30 p.m., and for the majority of the students at WPHS, practices for extracurricular activities begin soon after the final bell. Aderholt, of course, is aware her proposal would change those times, but she believes it is well worth it because of success stories across the country.
“The school systems that have altered the start times for the high schools have realized significant improvements in academic performance, and if that kind positive difference is possible then I believe we should take a very hard look at doing the same here in Ohio County,” she said adamantly. “I have read a number of different studies that have stated that beginning the first high school class at 8:30 a.m. or later, so as we are researching this change, we would have to see what would work best in our situation here in Ohio County.
“But for me, this is about student health and academic performance, and if beginning high school a little later in the day can improve both of those things, I believe it would be a very positive change to make,” Aderholt added. “Mental health already is an important issue, but if we can change something to improve it in a big way, that’s something we should do for the children of this county.”
Challenges
The alteration could cause the need for more school buses, and it is likely additional bus drivers will be necessary for the new routes.
Maybe. At this time a number of aspects to the transportation of students in Ohio County Schools are under study and the results are expected in the near future.
“The Board did move forward with the purchase of software for our school buses, and it is software that can be used for several different things,” Aderholt explained. “One of the things that we’ll be able to find out is if some of the routes our drivers travel can be consolidated because one bus is 50 percent full and so is another one. This way, we’ll be able to determine if we would need buses in order for us to make the time change on the high school level.
“I know some parents are concerned that the extracurricular practice after school would finish later than what they do now, but if we can realize the improvements other school districts have as far as academic and health are concerned, I believe it would be worth it,” she said. “And I say that as a mother of children who are very active in sports and clubs and other things like that.”
One challenge, however, may be too daunting to overcome.
“There is a shortage of bus drivers, and not just on Ohio County Schools but across the country,” the BOE member said. “I’m not sure why that is at this time because I’ve not heard about it being an issue until just recently. Usually, people who have retired from one job in the school system take a bus driver’s position for the extra pay and the insurance, but I guess people are not doing that as often as they used to.
“So, we can study the routes and the number of buses all we want, but if we don’t have the additional drivers to make this happen, none of it will matter,” Aderholt added. “I hope the shortage is only a temporary situation so we can at least try the time change to see if it would make the same positive difference that it has elsewhere.”
Not just starting practice later, but how many away games would students miss their last period class b/c they have to leave early? I worked and coached at a Maryland HS in the 90s w/a late start time, and students playing sports regularly missed last period for away games depending on how far they had to travel. So, there are always +s and -s.