Are school hours too long? Does school start too early? How do the early hours effect the students? Students, teachers, and parents from all public schools have opinions on this and I would like to share my thoughts. 

Over the course of time, I have reviewed studies correlating students’ lack of rest with rising health concerns after long school hours. I believe it would be beneficial to switch the start times of high school and elements and here is why.  

I think high school should start later and elementary school should start earlier. Teenagers need 8-10 hours of sleep each night so the later start time will help with their performance on tests and schoolwork in general. While many factors contribute to the difficulty of grades k-5 starting after 9, a commonly shared one is from parents. The coordination of elementary school start time and the average workday would allow the extra task of finding before school care to be eliminated. 

With more sleep for teens, it will allow them to focus more on school which will improve their grades, they will also be more rested so athletes can perform better in their sport. It’s common when teens are tired in general or when forced to get up for school, they resort to caffeine energy drinks or coffee. The consumption of caffeine, it increases anxiety and stress which is already instilled in students daily. 

So, you might be wondering, what can we do to change this? You can start telling other people about your take on school hours, do your research, and get support from family, friends, and even teachers.