Start School After 8:30
by Emily Reed
We the students of Frederick County Public Schools dutifully ask you to start school after 8:30.
Consider the following research before making your decision.
1. Adolescents should be getting 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep. This feat is difficult to achieve when their biological clocks tell them to go to bed past 10 and they are forced to wake up around 5:30. Because they cannot get the rest they need, they are sleep deprived and everybody learns better when they're awake.
2. No research has shown any benefit to requiring children, of any age, to use their cognitive thinking skills before 8 a.m.
3. Increased visibility during morning commutes to school is a natural prevention against car crashes.
4. Reduced tardiness, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, risk of obesity, eating disorders, diabetes, delinquency, and risk of substance abuse are just some of the positive effects of starting school after 8:30.
5. A full night's sleep improves students' alertness, memory, attention span, test scores, and overall academic performance.
This decision to move back school start times would benefit everyone involved. Take the leap of faith today and sign the petition to support a full night's rest.
Consider the following research before making your decision.
1. Adolescents should be getting 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep. This feat is difficult to achieve when their biological clocks tell them to go to bed past 10 and they are forced to wake up around 5:30. Because they cannot get the rest they need, they are sleep deprived and everybody learns better when they're awake.
2. No research has shown any benefit to requiring children, of any age, to use their cognitive thinking skills before 8 a.m.
3. Increased visibility during morning commutes to school is a natural prevention against car crashes.
4. Reduced tardiness, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, risk of obesity, eating disorders, diabetes, delinquency, and risk of substance abuse are just some of the positive effects of starting school after 8:30.
5. A full night's sleep improves students' alertness, memory, attention span, test scores, and overall academic performance.
This decision to move back school start times would benefit everyone involved. Take the leap of faith today and sign the petition to support a full night's rest.