THE IMPACT OF EARLY SCHOOL START TIMES

ON TEENSBy Debbie Moore

History

●Early 1990s, school districts around the country experienced financial constraints while simultaneously experiencing growing student populations.

●Many districts created a 2 or 3-tier busing system to save on transportation costs resulting in staggered school start times.

●Arlington ISD created a 3-tier system in 1992; previously all schools began at 8:30 AM.

●The assumption that older students could handle the earliest start times was made based on zero science.

Sleep Research

Sleep research in the 1970s discovered:

●Circadian rhythm common to all humans

●An internal mechanism that controls the sleep/wake cycle

●Found that sleep is necessary for tissue growth and repair, emotional control, learning, and the regulation of metabolism

●Sleep prunes our memories of all the day's stimuli and consolidates what's important

Effects of Sleep Loss

●Memory deficits

●Impaired performance and alertness

●Irritability

●Anxiety and depression

●Decreased socialization and humor

●Hyper-sexuality

●Decreased ability to handle complex tasks

●Unintended sleep

●Increased likelihood of stimulants (tobacco, caffeine, alcohol)

National Sleep Foundation, 2009, Carskadon, 1990

Adolescent Sleep Cycle

●Sleep research discovered adolescents have a biologically different sleep/wake pattern than pre-adolescents and older adults

●Teens circadian rhythm is delayed

●8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep is required each night for optimum health

●Melantonin production in teens begins at 11 PM and continues until 8 AM

●Teen's brain may be more sensitive to light changes in evening● Carskadon, 1995, 1998; National Sleep Foundation, 2009, 2012

Melatonin

●Hormone of Darkness

●Secreted by gland at base of the brain

●Turns on when brain believes it is nighttime and remains constant through sleep

●Makes us sleepy and signals when it is bedtime

●Affected by light

●

Wahlstrom, 2003

Melatonin Shift in Adolescence

●Released in teens from 11 PM to 8 AM

●Waking a teen at 7:00 AM is comparable to 4:00 AM in an adult

●Developmental not cultural phenomenon condition of adolescence

●International studies conducted produced same results.

●(Carskadon 1979; National Sleep Foundation, 2009; Wahlstrom, 2003)

University of Minnesota Study

●Dr. Kyla Wahlstrom, Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI)

●First long-term study measuring impact of later start times of high school on academic achievement

●Edina, suburban district and Minneapolis Public Schools

●Moved start times from 7:30 to 8:30 AM

●Studied work, sleep, and school habits of 12,000 secondary students, over 3,000 teachers, and interview data from 750 parents for 5 years (1997-2001)

CAREI Findings (2001)

●Reduction in dropout rates

●Less depression

●Fewer disciplinary referrals

●Improved attendance

●Improved academic performance

●Fewer tardies

●Less sleeping in class

●Homework completed in less time due to alertness & efficiency

●Increased total sleep

●92% of parents preferred later times after one year despite earlier concerns of busing, athletics, child care

CAREI 2nd Study (2014)

●First study to examine multiple schools across U.S.

●Eight public high schools, three states (Colorado, Wyoming, Minnesota)

●9000 students

●Three year study funded by CDC

●Switching to later start time confirmed previous study results.

●Increased standardized tests scores in math, English, science and social studies.

●Less caffeine consumption.

●70% reduction of teen car crashes in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Centers for Disease Control

2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey

●70% of all teens are sleep deprived

●40% of teens get six or fewer hours of sleep per night

●20% sleep in class

●Insufficient sleep was associated with 10 health-risk behaviors

Health Risk Behaviors

According to the CDC, insufficient sleep was associated with 10 health-risk behaviors:

●cigarette, drug, and alcohol use

●sexual activity

●feeling sad or hopeless

●suicide ideation

●physical fighting

●lack of physical activity

●overuse of computers

●consumption of soft drinks

Additional Health Concerns

●Link between chronic insufficient sleep and obesity (particularly in children)

●Decreased immune function

●Decreased insulin secretion (diabetes)

●Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

●Pathologically sleepy, falling directly in REM sleep in only 3.4 minutes—a pattern similar to narcolepsy (Carskadon, 1993, 1997)

National Sleep Foundation

2006 Sleep in America poll on “Teens and Sleep”

●Caffeine consumption and teens:

●31% drink 2 or more caffeinated beverages per day (coffee, soda, energy drinks)

●Caffeine masks the affects of sleep deprivation and prevents teens from realizing there is a problem

●Teens who drink caffeine get less sleep than those who don't

Weekend Catch-up

●As a result of sleep deprivation, adolescents will try to catch-up during the weekend which results in a jet-lag effect on Monday mornings. This results negatively on academic performance.

(Bergin & Bergin, 2009)

●Students who sleep in more than 2 hours on weekends earn lower grades. (Wolfson & Carskadon, 1998)

U.S. Air Force Study

●First year cadets (6,000 over 4 years)

●Same classes and same standardized tests

●Class start times ranged from 7:00 to 8:50 AM

●Cadets with classes starting before 8:00 AM performed worse not only on their first period class, but in all of their courses

(Carroll, 2011)

Early Start Times and the Disadvantaged

●Wake County, North Carolina study (2011) indicated that disadvantaged students benefit from a later start time at a rate roughly twice as much as their peers. The positive affects persisted all through high school. (Edwards)

●In the Air Force study Carrell concluded that among disadvantaged students, early class performance was reduced by an amount equivalent to having a highly ineffective teacher.

●If a disadvantaged youth misses the bus, he is out for the day.

●A disadvantaged teen, who sleeps through first period geometry can not afford a tutor.

Teens and Auto Accidents

●Fayette County, Kentucky, two-year study, 1998

–crash rates dropped 16.5% when high school start time went from 7:30 am to 8:30 am.

–Auto accidents of teens in the rest of state increased 7.8%

–A comparable decrease of 24.3%

(Danner and Phillips, 2008)

●Virginia, 2007-2008 study of two similar, neighboring districts

–41% higher crash rates in Virginia Beach than in Chesapeake, Virginia where classes started 75 minutes later.

(Vorona, 2010)

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

●100,000 traffic accidents each year due to drowsiness & fatigue.

●Young drivers cause ½ or 50,000 of these crashes.

●Teens are involved in 3 times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers.

●Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for teenagers in the U.S.

●20 studies since 1994 using driving simulators demonstrate drowsy driving impairment equivalent to driving legally drunk.

What the Experts are Saying

●“Almost all teen-agers, as they reach puberty, become walking zombies because they are getting far too little sleep.” A teacher can be delivering the “most stimulating, interesting lecture to sleep deprived kids whose overwhelming drive to sleep replaces any chance of alertness, memory or understanding.”

Dr. James Maas, Dept. of Psychology, Cornell

●Sleep plays a vital role in decision-making, higher level cognitive functions and mental performance.

Harvard Medical School Division of Sleep Medicine

●“Given that the primary focus of education is to maximize human potential, then a new task before us is to ensure that the conditions in which learning takes place address the very biology of our learners.”

Dr. Mary Carskadon, Brown University School of Medicine

With decades of

adolescent sleep research,

why would any school district

continue with high school start times

in the 7'clock hour?

Excuse 1: Rising Early Teaches Teens Responsibility

●Teen brains are still developing. The developing front cortex is responsible for judgment and reasoning.

●Asking teenagers to deprive themselves of sleep to “prepare” for the real world is like asking toddler to skip their naps to prepare for 5th grade.

●Duke University banned all classes before 8:30 AM in 2009.

●At Texas A & M, only 5% of all class sections begin at 8 AM.

●30% of adults leave their house for work after 8 AM according to the Census Bureau.

Excuse 2: Later Start Times will negatively affect students with

part-time jobs.

●For optimal academic performance, high school students should not work more than 15 hours per week.

●In districts across the country, that moved their start times later, employers did not seem to care if students started an hour later.

●The increase of earning potential and quality of life down the road by completing high school outweighs part-time work during high school

(Brookings Institute)

Excuse 3: It's Too Expensive to Change

●Brookings Institute 2011 Hamilton Project: Delaying school start times as one of the three most potentially cost-effective ways to boost academic achievement. Economists estimated a 9 to 1 cost ratio benefit.

●Cost to delay bus routes or flip existing sequence of tiered bus system is minimum.

●Consolidating busing to be more efficient has saved some districts money during the switch to a later start time.

●Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD reported a 2011 switch to later h.s. start times cost the district nothing.

(www.HamiltonProject.org)

Excuse 4: Later school hours will negatively affect extracurricular activities

●Daytime sleepiness negatively impacts performance

●American Academy of Pediatrics (2012) reported that adolescent athletes that sleep 8 hours or more each night were 68% less likely to be injured regardless of amount of participation, number of sports engaged in, strength training, private coaching, etc.

●Stanford Basketball Study (2011) basketball players slept 10 hours a night for a month. Players boosted free-throw and 3-point percentages by 9 percent

●The year Wilton, CT switched to later high school start time, the district won several state championships

Extracurriculars

●“The 9:00 start time for high school has served Frisco ISD athletics well. Our girls athletic period is 1st period, therefore, most of the girls programs start before school. Also, due to the Texas heat, our football programs have gone to some before school practices.”

David Kuykendall, Frisco ISD Athletic Director

●There is no correlation between early start times and great extra-curricular programs.

●The vast majority of students will make their future living through academic abilities not sports and other extracurriculars.

Excuse 5: Teens need early dismissal time to

supervise younger siblings●Who supervises the teens? Many high school students are left home alone between 3 – 6 PM.

●California study (2006): Kids ages 12-17 left unsupervised 3 or more days a week

●-twice as likely to engage in criminal activity

●-3 times more likely to smoke pot

●Lamar H.S. problems with after school criminal activity spotlighted Fall 2012

●Current later start times for elementary results in children dropped off unattended at school in the 7 o'clock hour

●Until the work day and the school day are parallel, childcare will always be needed.

Excuse 6: It is safer to start high schools first

instead of elementary schools

●It is unsafe for 15-year-old girls to stand on dark corners alone at 6:15 am.

●It's not safe for any child, even a high school student, to walk to school or wait for buses in the dark.

●It is unsafe to send new, sleep-deprived teen drivers out onto roads.

●Age does nothing to make pedestrians more visible to drivers.

Excuse 7: If we start school later, teens will just go to bed later

●Follow up studies of districts that have changed to later start times across the country indicate that students went to bed at the same time each night.

●University of Minnesota landmark study showed that ½ hour later start time resulted in full hour of extra sleep each night for Minneapolis students.

Summary - Concerns

●Part-time jobs, community babysitting, bus scheduling, parental preference are all concerns fueled by a fear of change.●None of these concerns use “education” in their justification for early start times.●No research exists that indicates early school times are beneficial to student well being.

Start Times of Area High Schools

●9:00 AM: Richardson*, Frisco*, Plano, Dallas

●8:45 AM: Denton, Irving, Aledo, Crowley

●8:30 AM: Grapevine/Colleyville, Trophy Club, Keller, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Fort Worth, Mesquite, Coppell*

●8:00 AM: Flower Mound, Allen*, Lewisville, Highland Park*, Carroll/Southlake*

●7:30 AM: Arlington, Garland, Grand Prairie, Kennedale, Mansfield, DeSoto, Duncanville

* Top ranking districts in state

AISD's Wellness Policy

●In 2004, congress recognized that schools play a critical role in promoting student health. As a result all districts were required to establish a school wellness policy by 2006.

●Arlington's policy statement

●To create an environment conducive to healthful eating and physical activity and to express a consistent wellness message through other

school-based activities.

●Does the biology, psychology, or health class curriculum in Arlington ISD address adolescent sleep?

●Is sleep information provided at freshman orientation?

●Sleep, the third pillar of health, is completely left out of policy.

AISD Strategic Plan

●Become a premier visionary district with inspired learners, closing achievement gap

●Foster a caring culture of respect, integrity, wellness, and citizenship throughout the district

●Empower students and staff with a wellness program to make healthy lifestyle choices

Options for School Districts

●Delay all school start and end times, so that no school begins before 8 AM●Return to a “0” hour giving students flexibility●Change the rotation order of the three-tier bus●Synchronize all school start and end times●Move from 3-tier to a 2-tier system by consolidating bus routes allowing middle and high schools to start at the same time

SUMMARY

●Adolescent sleep deprivation is a widespread chronic health problem.

●Decades of research by sleep scientists, educators, health-care providers, & mental health experts have irrefutably proven that early school start times create a public health issue for all adolescents.

●While it is tempting to blame parents and electronic entertainment, much of teen preference is driven by biology. (Carrell, 2011)

●H.S. school start times must be set to provide what is best for the greatest good of all 17,000 Arlington high school students.

●School districts around the country, including many in the DFW area, have proven that later school start times are possible.

●Research indicates that when school start times are changed, communities adjust accordingly. (Wahlstrom, 2003)

●Start times must promote learning rather than interfering with it.

For More Information

●SchoolStartTime.org: A comprehensive website reviewing the impact of school start times on adolescent health and academic performance.

●StartSchoolLater.net: A volunteer national coalition of health professionals, sleep scientists, educators, parents, students, and other concerned citizens dedicated to increasing public awareness about the relationship between sleep and school hours. Arlington is one of 30 chapters in 16 states.

●Start School Later Arlington, TX Facebook page

How to Get Involved

●Sign the local petition on Change.org (Google “start the high school day at a later time”)

●Sign the national petition at Start School Later.

●Email the Arlington ISD at aisd.net/administration/board

●Email your questions to Debbie Moore (jdmoore6@tx.rr.com) or follow me on Twitter @DebbieoMoore

Dr. Judith Owens Director of Sleep Medicine

Children's National Medical Center Washington D.C.

“If you knew that in your child's school there was a toxic substance that reduced the capacity to learn, increased chances of a car crash and made it likely that 20 years from now he would be obese and suffer from hypertension, you'd do everything possible to get rid of that substance and not worry about cost. Early start times are toxic.”