Make the start time for Columbia High School later
Make the start time for Columbia High School later
The Issue
The majority of CHS students begin their day at 7:30. While trying to maintain the balance between academics, college preparation, athletics, and other extracurriculars, many high school students get 7 or less hours of sleep per night. This is unhealthy and obscene.
The middle schools begin their day at 8:15, and the start time for the elementary schools range between 8:05 and 8:45. The only children in this district who get healthy amounts of sleep attend Tuscan, Marshall, and Seth Boyden Elementary Schools--the ones without intensive amounts of homework.
It's an obvious disservice to our students to have them come to school sleep-deprived, unfocused, and feeding a premature caffeine addiction.
The CDC has referred to insufficient sleep as "a publc health epidemic." And every study conducted on the matter has found that sleep-deprived students perform worse academically and as an added bonus, their health suffers as much as their grades.
The solution to better academic performance on standardized tests and in the classroom is NOT the common core, a longer school year, or a longer school day. This will only make matters worse. But the solution is is right in front of us--make school start later.
Many teachers commute long distances, stay late, prep for the next day and grade papers all night--a sleep-deprived teacher is just as ineffective as a sleep-deprived student.
Columbia's first period should begin between 8:30 or 9:00.
Consider the overwhelming scientific evidence:
1. http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-poor-sleep-mental-health-idINBREA0F1RM20140116
2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115122215.htm
4. http://www.mayoclinic.org/teens-health/art-20046157
5. http://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/262524
This is basic reasoning. Allow students and teachers access to the rest and health they deserve, and they will return with results--whether it is higher test scores, higher graduation rate, and higher grade point averages.
If the district cares about its students' education, health, and well-being, it will address this issue at once.
The Issue
The majority of CHS students begin their day at 7:30. While trying to maintain the balance between academics, college preparation, athletics, and other extracurriculars, many high school students get 7 or less hours of sleep per night. This is unhealthy and obscene.
The middle schools begin their day at 8:15, and the start time for the elementary schools range between 8:05 and 8:45. The only children in this district who get healthy amounts of sleep attend Tuscan, Marshall, and Seth Boyden Elementary Schools--the ones without intensive amounts of homework.
It's an obvious disservice to our students to have them come to school sleep-deprived, unfocused, and feeding a premature caffeine addiction.
The CDC has referred to insufficient sleep as "a publc health epidemic." And every study conducted on the matter has found that sleep-deprived students perform worse academically and as an added bonus, their health suffers as much as their grades.
The solution to better academic performance on standardized tests and in the classroom is NOT the common core, a longer school year, or a longer school day. This will only make matters worse. But the solution is is right in front of us--make school start later.
Many teachers commute long distances, stay late, prep for the next day and grade papers all night--a sleep-deprived teacher is just as ineffective as a sleep-deprived student.
Columbia's first period should begin between 8:30 or 9:00.
Consider the overwhelming scientific evidence:
1. http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/01/16/us-poor-sleep-mental-health-idINBREA0F1RM20140116
2. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/01/140115122215.htm
4. http://www.mayoclinic.org/teens-health/art-20046157
5. http://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/262524
This is basic reasoning. Allow students and teachers access to the rest and health they deserve, and they will return with results--whether it is higher test scores, higher graduation rate, and higher grade point averages.
If the district cares about its students' education, health, and well-being, it will address this issue at once.
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Petition created on January 15, 2014