Schools

Letter to the Editor: Later High School Start Times Would Benefit Students

Issue raised during Superintendent Karen Garza's recent listening tour.

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Editor:

On Dec. 7 I attended the Dranesville District Listening Tour meeting hosted by Fairfax County Public Schools at Cooper Middle School. How refreshing it was to see new school Superintendent Karen Garza spend her weekend time listening to parents, students and educators talk about their concerns and desires for education in Fairfax County for the upcoming school year.

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I went to the meeting to represent not only my seventh grader, but the many students and parents I have talked to who believe that Fairfax County high schools needs to join the 72 of 95 Virginia counties that have already implemented later high school start times. The group I represented that day also included hundreds of Longfellow Middle School students who have expressed interest that the Fairfax County School Board implement later high school start times as soon as possible.

It was troubling that one of the speakers at the listening tour was a student who believes he must trade very early start times and much-needed sleep to be able to participate in the high school marching band next year. How sad that any student believes that very early start and dismissal times are a requirement for extracurricular activities!

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Arlington County’s Washington-Lee High School’s award-winning high school marching band is proof positive that students can participate in marching band, sports and many other extracurricular activities and have a healthy high school start time. Arlington high schools shifted from 7:30 to 8:15 a.m. start times in 2001 and were able to continue to run robust and competitive marching bands, sports and other after-school activities.

In stark contrast to the absence of harm to extracurricular activities is the mountain of evidence that very early start times are bad for high school students.

Sleep is critical to learning, especially the last REM sleep, which is cut short by early alarms. Drowsy students have more difficulty absorbing new information and can’t help falling asleep in class, even when class material is fascinating. Sleep deprivation can disrupt hormone levels, impair metabolism, contribute to obesity and even set you up for long-term health issues such as Type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s. Sleep deprivation can also lead to tardiness, depression, increased absenteeism, increased sports injuries and potentially fatal car crashes.

The good news is this is not a zero sum game. We can have our cake and eat it too! Students can have later high school start times and continue to participate in band, sports and other extracurricular activities.

Elizabeth Ende

Elizabeth Ende is the parent of a current Fairfax County Public Schools middle school student and a college senior who graduated from the local school sytem. She is an active community volunteer and past president of Chesterbrook Elementary School PTA.

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