For Whom the School Bell Tolls - school schedules tailored to students' sleep needs

School Administrator, March, 1999 by Millicent Lawton

Reasonable Bedtimes

"Changing school start times will help a lot of kids," Carskadon says. But it cannot be done successfully, she argues, without also teaching students, parents and teachers about the importance of sleep and including it in the school curriculum. Students need to be educated about the need to stick to a reasonable bedtime, even if school starts later in the morning. Otherwise, Carskadon says, "Many kids will say, 'Oh great, I can stay up an extra hour-and-a-half."'

But right now, Carskadon says, "no kids at any age are learning anything about sleep. It's such a shame because sleep provides such a great access point for learning about biology. ... Kids love to talk and learn about sleep--everyone is so inherently interested in it."

Millicent Lawton

A Minneapolis Suburb Reaps Early Benefits From a Late Start

KENNETH A. DRAGSETH

Our school district of 6,700 students in a Minneapolis suburb took a big leap in 1996 when we changed our high school's starting time from 7:25 to 8:30 a.m.

We were one of the first high schools, if not the first, in the nation to change start times based on sleep deprivation research to accommodate the sleep patterns of high school students. Our decision--and the subsequent move of several other school districts to later starts for high schools--has generated tremendous interest. The issue has been debated hotly in the general press around this country and we have even received queries from Japan.

Why did we do it and what were the results of this action at our 1,400-student high school?

On Doctors' Advice

In 1994, Minnesota physicians lobbied for a new start time for high school students. They wrote to all 400 district superintendents in the state, noting that puberty resets the internal biological clock and prompts teen-agers to go to bed later than younger children. The Minnesota Medical Association cited studies linking inadequate sleep with lower grades and more frequent car accidents. We obtained further research showing that high school students were harmed by sleep deprivation and most did not get enough sleep to function at their best.

Our district strategic plan in Edina emphasizes decision making based on data. When we were confronted with the letters and calls from researchers telling us that this was a big issue with our high school students, we chose to investigate further whether we should or could make the change to a later start time.

District and building administrators began accumulating data and sorting out the issues for discussion. I raised the possible changes with other superintendents in our interscholastic athletic conference, which consists of eight schools. A high school task force on scheduling, under the direction of the assistant superintendent for secondary education, reviewed the research, talked to students and parents and discussed the implications with the high school site council. We held a parent/teacher/student organization meeting to collect input from parents on this issue, and the student council reviewed the concept.