Background: In December 2019 the Lake Washington School District's School Start Time Advisory Task Force recommended retaining 7.30 a.m. as the start time for Redmond High School. Given the timing of this decision - just 3 months before the 2020-21 remote school year - many things have changed since then. I am aware that all families' situations are different but now would seem a time to bring some more innovative thinking to this topic to create some positive change out of a terrible period.

This petition is to approach LWSD to reassess this decision in light of the impact of a 9AM start time during remote school during the 2020-2021 Covid-19 pandemic.  

Request: I would like LWSD to re-consider their pre-pandemic decision and use an 8.00, 8.30, or 9.00 AM start time in the 2021/2022 school year.

Original criteria: In the notes shared in the original task force advisory report from 12/09/2019 there were 7 factors considered (though no weighting of these aspects were shared). Personally speaking, No.2 should be at the top of the list, along with associated academic outcomes which did not appear here as a specific topic by itself.

1. The original decision-making process that led to the current start/end times for schools.
2. Current research on adolescent health.
3. Impacts of the start/end times on current family schedules and potential for additional disruptions.
4. The recommendations from the School Start Times Advisory Committee. 
5. Current program models, including the impact potential changes would have on transportation schedules and staffing needs.
6. Space constraints and the impact on program flexibility as LWSD continues to grow. 
7. LWSD’s current transportation model and policy requirements for eligibility.

Some new criteria for consideration:

1. Impact of a 9AM start: I would suggest there is NEW learning within the district by parents (like us) who have a teenager at Redmond High School on the positive impact of a later start time, including the jarring change of going back to 7.30 a.m. so abruptly.
2. New 2020 research on the impact of later school start times: This NEW study from the National Institutes of Health from 2020 (post this decision) is a very clear assessment of sleep and academic performance: Later School Start Time: The Impact of Sleep on Academic Performance and Health in the Adolescent Population (nih.gov)
3. Local HS comparisons: Lake Washington now has an 8.00 a.m. start time to join Bellevue and Issaquah. This prior Task Force had the start time as 7.30 a.m. their 'Neighbor School Districts' comparison
4. The impact of the pandemic on the nature of work: For many families in the district (though not all) will enable a lot more flexibility for parental schedules.
5. Transportation model: Can we simply rethink this or be more creative and focus any decision making on the health/educational impact of start times?

Delivery timing: I would welcome anyone wanting to sign this petition that I would like to forward to the LWSD by the end of May 2021.

Thank you for your consideration,

Adam Coleman - parent of an RHS student

Appendix: Key research papers.

2020 Later School Start Time: The Impact of Sleep on Academic Performance and Health in the Adolescent Population (nih.gov)

2016 Effects of school time on sleep duration and sleepiness in adolescents (plos.org)

2016 AMA Supports Delayed School Start Times to Improve Adolescent Wellness - American Medical Association (cision.com)

2014 School Start Times for Adolescents | American Academy of Pediatrics (aappublications.org)

1998: Adolescent sleep patterns, circadian timing, and sleepiness at a transition to early school days - PubMed (nih.gov)