This local chapter communication does not constitute or imply endorsement by Start School Later, Inc. What is more important than our students’ safety, health, and learning? The scientific evidence is clear: Teens need to start school no earlier than 8:30 a.m., as recommended by the American Medical Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Educatio
n Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the National Association of School Nurses/Society of Pediatric Nurses, and the American Sleep Association, along with Arne Duncan, former U.S. Ann Arbor high school students start at 7:45 a.m., with some bus pickups starting at 6:34, lunch at 10:30 and 11:30, and the school day ending at 2:36 (or even 1:42). wake up time for breakfast and travel, teens need to be asleep by 9 p.m. for the 9 hours of sleep per night they need (according to the Mayo Clinic). But getting enough sleep each night can be hard for teens because the start of puberty shifts their biological sleep-wake cycles by up to two hours later. Studies show that adolescents who don’t get enough sleep often suffer physical and mental health problems, an increased risk of automobile accidents, and a decline in academic performance. When teens are forced to be awake at early times, the result is that students are regularly deprived of their needed sleep. The scientific evidence shows that the later schools start, the more academic performance improves. Attendance also goes up, depression goes down, and fewer student drivers get into car crashes. By simply aligning school schedules to their biological sleep rhythms, teens experience less depression, fewer car accidents, better grades, and higher standardized test scores -- all shown in empirical studies of districts like Edina, Minnesota, that have switched to later start times. Why not start school later? Over 700 individuals have signed our Ann Arbor petition so far, and we urge you to join us now!
