Start High School Later in Montgomery County Movement and Petition

[Anonymous]

Here is the petition link:
[/url](http://signon.org/sign/changing-montgomery-county)

Sleep doctors have discovered that as children age and reach their teens, there is a change in their sleep pattern. Hormonal changes, physical growth, and brain development all change the sleep cycles in teens. Prior to adolescence, children become sleepy at 8 or 9 o'clock. But teens may not experience sleepiness until 11 o'clock or even later.

Teens need about 9 hours sleep each night...many teens need up to 10 hours. Most teens aren't getting anywhere near this. The National Sleep Foundation estimates that only 15% of teens get that much.

[b]Effects of Teen Sleep Deprivation
1. Traffic accidents. Over 80,000 people in America fall asleep while driving...every day! Studies find over 50% of those people are teenage drivers.
2. Excessive sleepiness during the daytime. In a study in Pediatrics (June 2009), 33% of teens reported falling asleep in school.
3. Increased stress. Teens have a lot going on in their lives. Homework, after school jobs, keeping up with gossip with friends, and after school activities. The more they take on, the more sleep they cut out. The more sleep they cut out, the sleepier they get. This has profound consequences on physical health, especially with the immune system.
4. High blood pressure . A study the science journal Circulation (August 19, 2008, by Dr. Susan Redline), reports that teens who do not get enough sleep––or do not sleep well––have a greater risk for hypertension.
5. Decreased memory and ability to learn. Sleep deprivation doesn't help students learn to their best ability.
6. Lack of control. Sleep deprived teens appear to have a more difficult time controlling their emotions and behavior.
7. Increased rates of depression and suicidal thoughts. 8. Also proven to contribute to obesity.

(Startschoollater.net – Tons of great info. and the National Petition!)

[Anonymous]

This research is not news, but the logistics simply prevent it.

[Anonymous]

BTDT. It won't change.

[Anonymous]

What is new in the research, from the last time Mont. Co. considered this in 1998, is the amout and quality of research now, compared to then. The Superintendent and Board need to get current. Also, the logistics are complicated, but absolutely not impossible. Other large school systems have changed high school starting times, we can too. The support has to be bigger than the folks against it. Also, I have found that when I speak with folks who have concerns, answer a lot of their questions, and refer them to startschoollater.net, they come around. If you suport this, please rengage the doubters and give them the facts. There are some great handouts at the startschoollater.net site including, Myths and Misconceptions, Sucess Stories, etc. Thanks, Mandi Mader

[Anonymous]

Yeah, but who's going to pay the increased costs? Given the state of the economy and the difficulty balancing budgets, I don't see it happening at all.

[Anonymous]

An online petition carries about as much weight as an email. A signed petition where people actually have to encourage others to sign does carry weight.

[Anonymous]

I teach HS, and while I agree with the research, things won't change for several reasons:

*sports
*jobs
*change in ALL the start times - So if HS starts later, that will affect bus routes for middle and elementary schools, which would be a logistical nightmare.
*And working parents have their routine down. This means that before and after care hours would be affected, too.

way too many logistical issues for this to happen

[Anonymous]

Good luck with that.

[Anonymous]

I hate to be passive about it but it seems like this argument is made every year and nothing ever happens. And while it cetainly isn't ideal my kid seems to have adjusted to the schedule.

[Anonymous]

OP, try not to be discouraged by the naysayers. I think people on DCUM are just conditioned to be contrary and negative about anything new. I've seen the research and can see no reason MCPS can't work this out the way other school districts around the nation have. Keep on fighting the good fight!

[Anonymous]

If school starts late when should club activities begin and end? How about athletics? Practise in the dark with the sun setting or mandate lit fields?

[Anonymous]

Athletic practises could occur before classes in the morning? Then wht about all the sleep? That's nonsense, my kids practice at 4:45 to 6:00 am for swimming anyway -- year round. I understand MCPS swimmers have the highest GPAs. Perhaps we should start HS at 5 am to improve the GPAs of all MCPS high school students.

[Anonymous]

Why do MCPS high school swimmers have such high GPAs? Are they getting enough sleep?

[Anonymous]

Our pre-adults need to adapt: early risers and early to bed. Unless the engines of our economy (including Wall Street) start the day at noon or later it's best to leave things as in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our pre-adults need to adapt: early risers and early to bed. Unless the engines of our economy (including Wall Street) start the day at noon or later it's best to leave things as in.

Let's be real. Asking our teenagers to be at their best at 7am is just not going to happen, even if they go to bed at 10pm. Their body clocks just aren't set for that schedule. Of course they will need to adapt, but they will be more able to do this as they enter adulthood and have more adult-like body clocks. In the meantime, I think it's a reasonable step to move the start of the academic day to 8 am.
It may not seem like much, but it would certainly help a lot of teens.