When students arrive at WS every morning, the evidence of sleep-deprivation is obvious and widespread: bloodshot eyes, droopy shoulders, and stumbling feet fill the halls.
But change is in the air.
FCPS Superintendent Karen Garza proposed later start times at the Mid-September school board meeting, suggesting that high schools start around 8 a.m..
The prospect of a later start time is appealing to most families because of the extensive health benefits. Garza claimed that the compelling research of later start times on adolescent health has proven that they are in students’ best interests.
“Everyone has a natural internal clock. Teenagers’ internal clocks shift to later times in their high school years,” said sophomore CJ Lee. “It’s normal for us to stay up in the evening and wake up later.”
Many people believe that with extra sleep, teens’ alertness and concentration will improve, increasing the quality of learning and allowing for greater retention of information.
However, middle schoolers will not necessarily be pleased by the proposal’s effect on their schedules. With the ongoing shortage of buses and the addition of rather exorbitant transportation costs, there is no way for both middle and high schools to start later.
Bus driver shifts will have to be staggered, since the county does not have their own buses for every high, middle, and elementary school. Consequently, middle schoolers could be getting the short end of the stick with their start times moving up to around 7:30 a.m. Although the shift would change up the middle school schedules, Garza and others see the advantages as outweighing the costs. But some, including high school students, see some serious downsides to the proposed schedule.
“Middle schools are already more catered for the students to succeed with additional guidance from faculty,” said senior Kristin Brierly.
“However, high school kids are expected to be independent. The extra time is much more beneficial to us as we need to somehow get assignments done in between all of our extra-curriculars.”
Students who have a lot of clubs, sports, or job commitments believe that the school board shouldn’t tamper with the current system, especially since their free time will be cut short.
“If school ends later, practice gets pushed later. Kids will be getting home at 6,” said senior Spencer Grewe. “This schedule will screw everyone up.
If elementary schools let kids off earlier, high schoolers can’t be there to watch their siblings.”
There have been propositions to move sports practices to the mornings before school to avoid these conflicts, which athletes favor since practices cannot extend into school time. However, several sports teams will not be able to adjust their practices if their teams require transportation to get to practices elsewhere.
“Swim team takes the bus, along with teams like golf and fishing, because we have to go to other locations to meet,” said sophomore Beth Whittier. “We can’t get buses if they are being used by schools in the morning! That costs a lot. To shift our school day by 40 minutes, it seems like so much money going to waste to try to fix something that isn’t broken.”
Schedule changes will not only affect students and faculty. The community could find the later school days to be inconvenient as they create conflicts for organizations that depend on FCPS facilities and buildings. If school-sponsored sports and clubs run later, that only means less time for groups like Eddie’s Club and men’s recreational basketball teams to meet on FCPS campuses and fields.
Nevertheless, most believe that the positive impact on high school students outweighs the potential problems.
“America is finally coming out of the recession. Some teachers will be receiving pay raises for the first time in years,” said Principal Mike Mukai. “With a better budget, it looks as if it’s a good time to implement later start times.”
The FCPS school board will be making their final decision in late October and students will be eagerly anticipating the outcome.
“Let’s be honest here,” said junior Jasmeen Dhillon. “Morning people don’t exist.”