West Hartford and Simsbury’s school districts are considering the idea of allowing high school students to sleep in a little later. Both districts are considering rolling back the 7:30 a.m. daily start time to around 8 a.m.
Both districts are looking into how the change can help students focus not only in the classroom, but also during extracurricular activities.”
Dan Trafford, a parent, like the system as it is.
“Starting at 7:30 is a good thing,” Trafford said. “Starting early gives them a head start in terms of getting ready for work when they get into college and everything else.”
Simsbury’s public school district is working with sleep specialists and researching the effects of a later start time.
The Centers for Disease Control says starting school later can improve students’ health, academic performance and quality of life.
Ruth Petkaitis, a Hartford middle school music teacher, said an extra half-hour of sleep or longer for her students could be beneficial.
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“You’re talking to somebody who has a late arrival this morning. My son just couldn’t get out of bed. He didn’t stay up late, he just needed the rest,” she said.
But she can’t ignore the fact that it would also affect her work schedule and her son would have to take himself to school.
“I know there’s a busing schedule that gets a little bit difficult to manage,” she said, along with managing after school sports.
It’s been done before. Newtown pushed the start time for high schoolers back 40 minutes to 8 a.m., and adjusted the bus schedule accordingly. The soonest students could start sleeping in would be for the 2019-2020 school year.
