US schools delay morning start time to give students more sleep

America Instead of having to go to school at 7:30, thousands of students in the state of Pennsylvania have two extra hours in the morning to sleep, meet with teachers or complete other assignments.

Every morning, Khalid Doulat, a senior at Upper Darby High School in Pennsylvania, spends time praying, helping his mother, or running. Doulat doesn’t have to get to school until 9:45 a.m., instead of 7:30 a.m.

For Doulat and thousands of students at the school, the delay in morning school starting about two hours is a positive change from last year.

"I'm more excited to go to school, instead of reluctantly getting out of bed at 7:30," Doulat said.

Upper Darby has been considering delaying school since 2019 and is finally making the move this year. When students first returned to in-person learning after the pandemic, many faced mental health and behavioral issues, said Upper Darby Superintendent Daniel McGarry. The school also noticed that many students were not respecting the rules of their teachers in class.

Now, students' worries after a period of online learning have somewhat disappeared. "I think our students feel better, although not completely," he said.

Upper Darby High School students on campus on April 12, 2023. Photo: AP/Matt Slocum — Students at Upper Darby High School in Pennsylvania on campus on April 12, 2023. Photo: *AP/Matt Slocum*

The idea of later school starts has been pushed for a long time as a way to help students get more sleep, and it’s been touted as a way to address the mental health crisis affecting teens across the country.

According to multiple studies, during the pandemic, the number of high school students expressing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness has skyrocketed.

“Mental health challenges are going to happen, and when you’re sleep deprived, they’re going to get much worse,” said Orfeu Buxton, director of the Sleep, Health, and Society Collaborative at Penn State University.

At least nine states are considering bills related to morning school start times, up from four last year. In 2019, California became the first and only state to delay school start times. Major school systems including Denver, Philadelphia, Anchorage and Alaska are also considering them.

In fact, the school day at Upper Darby still starts at 7:30 a.m. Students are assigned homework that is related to the day’s lessons and can complete it remotely, but when they do it is up to them. Students can use the time before school in the morning as they see fit, such as meeting with teachers, sleeping in, or doing other homework.

After school at 3pm, students play sports , join clubs or work. Students decide whether to do homework in the evening or leave it until early the next morning, study for an upcoming test or go to bed.

Principal Matthew Alloway said teachers reported fewer students sleeping in class because of the adjusted schedule. About 400 of the school’s 4,250 students chose to learn online because of the program. He said the new schedule allows “students to come to school for what they need.”

Many critics have criticized the new schedule for reducing the amount of time students spend with teachers directly. However, Matthew explained that lectures do not always take up the full 80 minutes. In fact, sometimes instruction is only 60 minutes, with the rest of the time spent writing, reading, or watching videos .

The change in school hours also helps to address the teacher shortage. Teachers have more time to take care of themselves and their families in the morning, while administrators have time to find a replacement teacher if someone is absent sick.

Even if students can't see the daily effects, the change in class time can still have a positive impact, Doulat said.

“It's little changes that I and other people don't notice. But it adds up and I really see a difference in my life,” Doulat says.

Dawn (According to AP)

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