Hey! We're students at William Mason High School which is part of the Mason City Schools District! We can relate to the everyday struggles of a student such as the stress of due dates, the anxiety behind a big game or tournament, and the absolute fear of walking into a classroom and hearing everyone talking about the upcoming test you didn't know even existed. But for now, we want to talk about one of THE most painful struggles of being a student. Waking up.

Let's take a look at the common student's day before school starts. At our high school, we have to be through the doors at 7:45 AM and preferably in class at around 7:50 AM which when you think about it, may seem like a reasonable time, right? Now think about the kids who come to school on buses. Most buses actually come to their bus stops at around 7:05 AM or earlier. Some kids can take up to 15 minutes to get ready where others may take around an hour, and most kids STILL don't have time to eat their breakfast. But let's say the student we're looking at drives to school on their own and takes about 30 minutes to get ready. They may leave their house at around 7:20 which would mean they need to wake up at 6:50, but let's be honest, that student's probably going to wake up at around 7 because of that tempting snooze button. Now let's switch gears a little bit and take a look at when they're probably going to sleep.

Most high schoolers finish homework at around 10:30 PM on a good night with light homework and virtually no procrastination. But, that's almost impossible, so the average high schooler probably finishes their homework at 11, 11:30 or maybe even 12 PM. Before they go to sleep, they probably have a nightly routine that may take up to 15 or 20 minutes. After that, most students probably scroll through their phones for about an hour or maybe even two. This means that they're going to sleep at 1 or 2 AM and waking up at 7 AM. That's about 6 hours of sleep, which is really disadvantageous considering they have to wake up and go through 7 hours of school where they try to learn more. This isn't right! The most beneficial thing we can do for students is changing the start time to later start times.

This is where we call for your help. Your support is incredibly valuable and helpful to us, so supporting this cause by signing this petition will help us tremendously. Please take the time to check out this video where we explain more on why later start times should be enforced and why the change hasn't been made yet.

Finally, let us know your thoughts on this issue by filling out this form!

Remember, together we CAN make a real difference!