Did the Country’s Best High School Claim Its Crown Thanks to Its Late Commence Time?
The U.S.’s Best High School Starts at 9:15 a.m.
On Tuesday, U.S. News and World Report released its annual public high-school rankings, with the School for the Talented and Gifted in Dallas earning the top spot for the fifth year in a row. The rankings are based on a wealth of data, including graduation rates and student spectacle on state proficiency tests and advanced exams, as well as other relevant factors–like the percentage of economically disadvantaged students the schools serve. But there`s one key metric that isn`t tracked despite having a proven influence on academic spectacle: school commence times.
First-period classes at the School for the Talented and Gifted embark at 9:15 a.m. That`s unusually late compared to other schools but is in keeping with the best practices now recommended by public health experts.
Teenagers require more sleep than adults and are hardwired to want to sleep in. Eight hours a night may be the objective for adults, but teenagers need inbetween 8.Five–9.Five hours, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Unluckily, few teenagers meet that minimum: Studies demonstrate that two out of three high school students get less than eight hours of sleep, with high school seniors averaging less than seven hours.
Sure, kids could go to bed earlier. But their figures are set against them: Puberty makes it hard for them to fall asleep before eleven p.m. When combined with too-early embark times, the result is sleep deprivation.
While figure clocks may be hardwired, school begin times are not. In the last two years, both the AAP and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have grown so alarmed about teenage sleep deficits that they are urging middle schools and high schools to shift begin times to 8:30 a.m. or later.
The side effects are severe: Sleep-starved teenagers are more likely to misbehave, be tardy for class, and underperform academically. They`re also more likely to be overweight, suffer from depression, drink alcohol and use drugs, and get in more car accidents. Moreover, their sleep habits now raise their risk later in life for diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even Alzheimer`s.
Unluckily, the CDC`s most latest report demonstrated that nationally, less than twenty percent of middle and high schools had embark times of 8:30 a.m. or later. The average? 8:03 a.m.
This average masks some of the agony. In my district, the middle schools begin at 8:45 a.m. but the high schools, including the one where my son is a student, embark at 7:30 a.m.
At the fresh Starbucks around the corner, there’s a pre–7:30 morning rush. It’s mostly teenagers.
It`s true that altering middle-school and high-school embark times often presents a few major hurdles for school districts: Bus schedules and athletic programs must be retooled, and resistance to switch from parents, coaches and others must be overcome. And yet districts from Seattle to Cape Cod, Massachusetts, are doing it. In fact, Seattle will be the largest district to date to make the shift, which will take effect this fall.
More significant, the potential longterm gains–students who are well-rested and better performing–far outweigh the short-term logistical headaches. Even school athletics stand to benefit, given that sleep deprivation hauls down peak physical spectacle.
Until schools make these shifts, kids will be coerced to do what they can to feel less sleepy, like sleeping in on weekends to attempt to make up for sleep lost during the week. Unluckily, a teenage sleep examine published last month showcased that this strategy doesn`t work. Instead, the researchers found even two nights of recovery sleep do not undo some of the many cognitive impairments caused by just one week of partial sleep deprivation.
Other teenagers stream up on caffeine before class. Earlier this spring, a fresh Starbucks opened a block from my son`s high school. On school days, there`s a pre–7:30 morning rush. It`s mostly teenagers.
There are doubtless many reasons why the School for the Talented and Gifted landed in the top spot–for the fifth straight year–in the U.S. News and World Report rankings. That its embark time permits students to get a good night`s sleep is likely just a part of the equation–but it`s one that we can lightly implement elsewhere. Our students deserve it.
Lisa L. Lewis is a writer based in Southern California. Her work has appeared in publications including the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post’s On Parenting section, and Literary Mama.
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