On Thursday night the DJUSD School Board received an update from the study group, Later School Start, that is co-chaired by Davis High Vice Principal Mary Lynch and community member John Troidl. They have been asked to research the benefits and possible logistical challenges of a later start time for DJUSD secondary schools.
The school board, led by President Alan Fernandes, unanimously approved directing the study group, which has plans to conduct a local survey and prepare a feasibility report, to prepare instead an implementation plan which would change the start to 8:30 for high school and junior high school students.
The goal was to get something that they could discuss in April and Mr. Fernandes stressed that this was not approving the change, only looking at how a potential change could be implemented.
There is research that suggests that a later start time improves both health and academic performance.
The school board’s agenda includes a link to an August 2014 release from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) which “recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class to 8:30 a.m. or later. Doing so will align school schedules to the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.”
“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, “School Start Times for Adolescents,” published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics.
“The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life,” Dr. Owens said. “Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn.”
Sleep deprivation, according to these studies, has reached epidemic proportion, as a “National Sleep Foundation poll found 59 percent of 6th through 8th graders and 87 percent of high school students in the U.S. were getting less than the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep on school nights.”
The report cites a number of reasons for teens’ lack of sleep, including “homework, extracurricular activities, after-school jobs and use of technology that can keep them up late on week nights.”
While these are important factors and the AAP recommends pediatricians work with parents and teens about healthy sleep habits, they primarily argue that “the evidence strongly suggests that a too-early start to the school day is a critical contributor to chronic sleep deprivation among American adolescents.”
The report estimates that 40 percent of high schools in the U.S. currently have a start time before 8 a.m.; only 15 percent start at 8:30 a.m. or later. The median middle school start time is 8 a.m., and more than 20 percent of middle schools start at 7:45 a.m. or earlier.
“Napping, extending sleep on weekends, and caffeine consumption can temporarily counteract sleepiness, but they do not restore optimal alertness and are not a substitute for regular, sufficient sleep,” according to the AAP.
“The AAP urges middle and high schools to aim for start times that allow students to receive 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night. In most cases, this will mean a school start time of 8:30 a.m. or later, though schools should also consider average commuting times and other local factors,” the report continues.
“The AAP is making a definitive and powerful statement about the importance of sleep to the health, safety, performance and well-being of our nation’s youth,” Dr. Owens said. “By advocating for later school start times for middle and high school students, the AAP is both promoting the compelling scientific evidence that supports school start time delay as an important public health measure, and providing support and encouragement to those school districts around the country contemplating that change.”
The research is fascinating, and the link between start times and performance, and also biorhythms, is very interesting. However, I cannot help but wonder if this isn’t targeting the wrong problem.
For example, I recall my first year of college. The first quarter, I made the mistake of scheduling 9 am classes, and, let me put this delicately, but I often found myself having trouble getting up for the classes.
Since I didn’t do very well my first quarter, my second quarter I arranged it so that I could have no class starting before noon. The problem was that, by gaining extra hours of sleep, I adjusted by going to bed even later. That quarter I’d often go to bed at an hour later than when I get up now.
My point is, the research is suggestive, but the bigger problem might be on the back end of things.
When I started college, we didn’t have the technological and electronic devices that cause problems today. Students with smart phones and iPads or other electronic devices are stimulating their brains at late hours which not only keeps them up later at night but also disrupts sleep patterns.
Thus, I am not convinced that the problem of lack of the recommended sleep will be resolved with a later start time.
There are a lot of moving parts here, but trying to get a plan together by April to implement it by next year seems like rushing things. I think we need a better understanding of local students’ sleep habits first and then think about how to deal with the problems, rather than imposing one solution that will probably create a whole host of other complications in order to be implemented.
I’m not opposed to the idea of a later start, but would rather take a more measured approach so that we are working with actual data before we make changes that will have impacts on a seven-period day and how late the school schedule goes, the working conditions of employees that will require collective bargaining agreements, and the impact on parents who may have to leave for work earlier than when their kids would arrive at school.
All of these are important factors that go beyond simple implementation.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
“Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common – and easily fixable – public health issues in the U.S. today,” said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD,
Do you allow your kids to sleep in, during the summer months? If you do, are they in a better, less grumpy mood when they awake? Are they more cheerful and cooperative? Do they seem happier, with more positive energy?
Do you have a guest room in your home that has no electronics in it, save an alarm clock or a small lamp? Do your guests marvel that they got a really good night’s sleep, even though they are not at home in their own bed? I’m an empty nester with two guest rooms. One is loaded with electrical devices, the other has nothing except a small lamp by the bed. The guests who sleep in the latter always notice what a wonderful night’s sleep they had. For anyone of any age who suffers from insomnia, or interruptd sleep, or just awakens still feeling tired, I highly recommend removing every electrical device from your bedroom, and get shades or drapes that really cut out all the sunlight (and moon light) in your room.
We used to make our kids get up at a certain time in the summer. When my electricity bill in a tiny duplex on Cowell started exceeding $120 in the summer, I decided to experiment with letting the kids sleep in as late as their bodies allowed. It was wonderful. The bill dropped way down. My kids happiness soared. I could just see on their faces what a difference 10 or 11 or even 12 hours of good sleep made.
The problem I had with late start day was, my job was in Natomas. The latest I was allowed to start my shift, even with flex time, was 8:30. When my kids were young, going to North Davis, that meant I had to pay C.D.C. a small fortune to watch them from 7:45 to 8:20 or whatever time elementary school starts. My husband was self employed, and if I quit my job to stay home full time, our health insurance premiums would have sky-rocketed. The main reason I worked full time with the state was for the health insurance and the retirement benefits.
North Davis has no adult supervision on campus before school starts. North Davis used to forbid children from coming to campus early, before school started. Is it still that way?
“Do you allow your kids to sleep in, during the summer months? If you do, are they in a better, less grumpy mood when they awake? Are they more cheerful and cooperative? Do they seem happier, with more positive energy?”
the problem with this line of questioning is that the variable that changes more than just sleep is stress. do we expect students to be less stressed in the summer because pressure is off, yes.
I agree wholeheartedly that stress is a huge factor. And let’s not kid anyone.
Some, not all, Davis “Tiger” parents (either sex, not just moms) want maximum after school sports programs to maximize that ivy league college application.
My understanding is that the early (7:45 am) high school start time exists so that the school day will end earlier to allow more time for school sports. The student priority should be academics, not sports. I have never understood this rationale.
The study focuses on when teenagers will get quality sleep based on how their biological clocks work. The new schedule may not lead to more sleep but would lead to a higher quality of sleep. Hopefully the higher quality would lead to better academic results.
I have no problem with the April date for the report.
“I have never understood this rationale.”
Me neither.
David, your college story made me chuckle, given your sleep/wake schedule now. Hard to get up early enough to beat the DV’s first story….but maybe you have it on autopilot upload?
Yeah I figured that people who knew my present sleep habits would get a chuckle. It was a long process that happened slowly overtime as I realized I did my best work early in the morning. I presently get up at 4 am 7 days a week, 360 days a year or so.
I applaud this effort. The symptoms of sleep deprivation can look like depression and therefore be grossly miss-diagnosed. Sleep deprivation can be cured with more sleep!! Depression requires the intervention of specialists, including prescription drugs and/or maintenance cognitive therapy (weekly, not monthly like Kaiser offers).
At an individual student level, DJUSD doesn’t have the staff time or expertise to evaluate the difference. Talking about getting more sleep and depression/mental illness with an immature teen–and getting cooperation to address–can be incredibly frustrating for adults who love them. Being wrong and/or not getting help, is devastating. Teen depression is scary–suicide is the 3rd leading cause of youth death and second leading cause of college student deaths.**
Borrowing a term from Montessori, when DJUSD is “preparing the environment”, including their schedule, “normal” should be healthy and be perceived by students as “the way it should be.”
** http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pub/youth_suicide.html
** https://news.virginia.edu/content/more-us-college-students-die-suicide-alcohol-related-causes-uva-researchers-find
Starting school later is a great idea to let kids get more sleep. I just hope the working parents that don’t like it (and care more about paying someone to watch their kids than their kids actually learning) don’t kill the later start time…
P.S. As a former tutor of “at risk” kids these are the ones that will really benefit from a later start time since “at risk” kids have a higher percentage of caretakers that don’t have to get up early for work they tend to live in households that are up later on average (watching TV) than the kids who have parents that need to be in Natomas at 8:30 am M-F…
South of Davis
“I just hope the working parents that don’t like it (and care more about paying someone to watch their kids than their kids actually learning) don’t kill the later start time”
I see this comment as a minimization of the difficulties faced by families in which both parents have to work in order to provide the essentials. The choice for many is not about being too stingy to pay, but rather not having the resources to pay. People working for lower wages are typically also those who are offered the least flexibility in their hours and whose jobs are the least secure since they are ( often correctly) viewed by their employer as easily replaceable. So the issue is not that they “care more” about the money than they do about their kids education, it is that they have to balance their kids housing, food, and medical needs with their eduction.
Thank you.
Tia wrote:
> I see this comment as a minimization of the difficulties faced by
> families in which both parents have to work in order to provide the essentials.
You can “see” it that way (I thought we were all going to try and focus on what people actually wrote and not try and “see” or “guess” what they were thinking) but I am talking about the VAST majority of working parents in Davis who have plenty of money to drive newer cars (my car is over 10 years old) have cable or dish TV with premium channels (we don’t have ANY cable or dish TV) who are complaining about spending a little money and/or spending more time to help their kids learn.
To quote Hillary Clinton “It takes a village” and any parent that is short on cash can easily find a stay at home parent “in the village” who will happily watch their kids for an hour in the morning 5 days a week in exchange for watching their kids for 5 hours on a Friday night or Saturday afternoon.
P.S. I’m wondering if Tia actually knows any families in town where “both parents have to work in order to provide the essentials” (and if she considers an an iPhone6 with a data plan “essential”)…
I actually agree with most of what you say however Ta is a terrible example of a materialistic Davisite IMHO. From what I have read on this site she has done humanitarian work, she walks to her job, and she does not seem like a woman worried about material possessions at all, IMHO.
A better example of a self absorbed person would be one of the stay at home moms mimicked on the television program, “The New Adventures of Old Christine.” (The character named Marley was inspired by a really wealthy Davis stay at home mom.) Okay, not really. My bad.
http://www.watch-tvseries.net/series616/The-New-Adventures-of-Old-Christine/season-01-episode-01-Pilot
i think the question the vanguard poses is not whether we should do this but rather is this sufficient by itself and i think without changing sleep/ technology habits the answer is no.
“I am not convinced that the problem of lack of the recommended sleep will be resolved with a later start time.”
I agree that a later start time will not “fix” or “resolve” the problem of inadequate sleep. However, I am a strong proponent since I believe that it will help with the problem and that it is probably the only step that the schools can take other than educating parents and students and hoping for voluntary changes in those behaviors that can only be implemented in the home.
Just because a proposed measure will not “fix” a problem does not mean that it should not be enacted as a step forward. I believe in incremental improvements over quick fixes and I firmly believe that this would be an improvement. There will doubtless be unintended consequences as with any action and the schools will need to address those with flexibility and creativity.
One good approach might be to run a pilot at one of the schools and compare student performance and whatever “wellness” parameters were felt relevant with the “control” school. This would provide information about both the beneficial and any potential adverse consequences. If both student and parent surveys were taken to assess impact on families and the community as well as on the individual student it might serve as a demonstration that if effective would lead to parent, student, and teacher buy in.
There is only one real high school in this town so doing a comparison would not work. Both DaVinci and King cater to a specific population and would not be a good comparison. Only the high schools start at 7:45 am. The junior high schools all start at 8:15 am and only have teenagers in 9th grade. The question that I want answered by the school district is why does the high school start time move forward 30 minutes? I believe that it is done to accommodate school athletics so that there is sufficient practice time before it gets dark. If it is not athletics then why the earlier start time. It is my understanding that some of our high school teams miss entire days of class to participate in athletic events. This is another example of athletics negatively impacting academics. My perspective may change when my child gets to high school and plays on a team and we get to experience those issues first hand.
Concerning getting kids to school on time we are only talking about 10th through 12th grades. These are our older students who should be able to bike or coordinate a ride via a carpool. If the school start time moves
“here is only one real high school in this town so doing a comparison would not work. Both DaVinci and King cater to a specific population and would not be a good comparison.”
Doing a whole school comparison would not work statistically speaking for the reason that you site. However, doing a target group comparison could work. I am sure someone with more research experience than I could design an appropriate pilot with students from either King or DaVinci with a target group from Davis High and a control group from Davis High since the comparison would not be to each other, but to their own progress and whatever wellness features were identified as relevant. I see this as a longitudinal study comparing progress and individual change, not comparing one group to the other directly.
DaVinci is not real? King is not real? Your are joking, right? Why are they not real?
Please tell me how the kids at Da Vinci are a significantly different “specific population” than the kids who go to DHS. Because my experience has been that this is not the case.
My daughter attends classes at both Da Vinci and the HS. There may be a higher predilection for the kids at Da Vinci to like collaborative activities and use tech more during the school day, but that would hardly make their inclusion in any type of study/pilot program “not a good comparison.”
They go to school at the same time as the kid at the “real” (whatever the heck that means) high school.
“One good approach might be to run a pilot at one of the schools…”
Makes sense.
We have studies done by scientists. Then we get an opinion based on David’s personal anecdotal experience. Really? This isn’t reporting or op ed. The Vanguard quality really used to be better.
seems like an odd comment. the way i read the column, he sites the expert’s report, the school board action, and asks whether it is enough citing concerns about late nights and electronics – two concerns cited in the scientific study you allude to. do you really dispute whether the later start time won’t solve all the problems here?
Generally speaking, teens want to conform. If the status quo is unhealthy and unsafe, then healthy and safe is “alternative.” Right now, DSHS is hard-wired to be unhealthy and unsafe on a number of levels; sleep is just one. A teen must “choose” to act against peer pressure to be healthy and safe, at a time of life, where choices are agonizing to make, particularly to be “alternative.” That includes starting school at 2nd period and quite possibly missing music or a singleton course that friends are taking (of which DSHS has a ton). That is backwards and wrong. I look back and think how naive I was, I thought I could expect the school to re-enforce the healthy habits we were teaching at home. Boy was I wrong. Surprised no one has brought up “zero period.”
What is “zero period”?
Zero period is a 6 am weight lifting and conditioning class conducted before 1st period. Our experience with zero period was with football. In the Fall, the student-athletes don’t sign up for a 7th period, because they have football practice. In the Spring, the football student-athletes still don’t have a 7th period, but they are required to attend zero period at 6 am.
Mrs. W
I wonder if some of this is not due to scheduling issues with the use of the field. We are talking a few years back, but when my son played varsity Lacrosse at DHS their practices and their games were always in the evening. Does that mean that certain other sports practices would have to occur in the “zero period” ?
Mrs W- thank you for your comments.
Hear, hear. Unhealthy. I like your way of succinctly describing the predominant atmosphere there in the years 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007.
I pray it has changed.
Thank you 🙂
“When I started college, we didn’t have the technological and electronic devices that cause problems today. Students with smart phones and iPads or other electronic devices are stimulating their brains at late hours which not only keeps them up later at night but also disrupts sleep patterns.
Thus, I am not convinced that the problem of lack of the recommended sleep will be resolved with a later start time.”
Bingo! Staying up late can be solved at home by parents insisting students get to bed earlier, giving students plenty of time to get sufficient sleep.
Secondly, as has been noted above, a later start time is a problem for working parents. Do we really want unsupervised children getting to school on their own because parents need to get to work early to keep their jobs?
Thirdly, as has been pointed out above, what about sufficient time for extracurricular activities after school?
Fourthly, students need to prepare for the real world, which rarely allows them to get up and get to work at a late hour. Most employers start work somewhere around 7:30 – 8:00 am.
If this program of a later start is instituted, I doubt you will see students significantly more productive or doing significantly better. Just my prediction, assuming the assessment is honest and above board.
“..students need to prepare for the real world, which rarely allows them to get up and get to work at a late hour.
Tell that to cops and firefighters and emergency room nurses, therapists and dentists at the prison, vets who take emergencies, stand up comedians, actresses, musicians, artists, OB/GYN’s, because babies always wait to be born between 9:00 – 5:00, suicide prevention hotline workers. 911 operators…farmers…
Movie theater employees, the hostess at the dinner shift at the French Laundry, the bus boy at Greens or Chez Paniz…the bartender at The View at the Marriott in San Francisco, the night clerk at the St. Francis. Maids at the Davis Hyatt….folks who work Wednesday evening Farmers’ Market in your town..the evening workers at Bobby Coyote’s restaurants, the cashier at Steve’s Pizza…
“…..emergency room nurses, therapists and dentists at the prison, vets who take emergencies, stand up comedians, actresses, musicians, artists, OB/GYN’s, because babies always wait to be born between 9:00 – 5:00, suicide prevention hotline workers. 911 operators…farmers..Movie theater employees, the hostess at the dinner shift at the French Laundry, the bus boy at Greens or Chez Paniz…the bartender at The View at the Marriott in San Francisco, the night clerk at the St. Francis. Maids at the Davis Hyatt….folks who work Wednesday evening Farmers’ Market in your town..the evening workers at Bobby Coyote’s restaurants, the cashier at Steve’s Pizza…”
I believe all of those who work night shifts are at higher risk, statistically, for some cancers and other illness, mostly due to the need for sunlight. Tia?
;>)/
Research is verifying that this is not enough to counteract biologically driven processes in teens. In our experience, what helped more was minimizing extracurricular activities and not taking AP courses for which they had no interest.
I do not supervise my high school aged children to get to school. It is their job. My teens also got to school just fine, when they attended junior high with its 8:30 start time.
First of all, the State of California requires six periods. Normal is six. DSHS offers 7. With a slightly later start time, a student’s choices will be re-framed. For example, instead of DJUSD requiring a student choose between getting enough sleep or not, students may be choosing between a 7th period located on the DSHS campus and an extracurricular activity that was unable to adapt by 45 minutes. Since 1st period was initiated, a myriad of ways have been developed for motivated students to increase their course load and an off-campus 7th period is a viable alternative. Many extracurricular activities WILL be able to adapt. I suspect that students can have it all, sleep, a 7th course, and extracurricular activities. Nevertheless, the point is, our Public Institutions should be structured so they support families to make healthy choices.
By the time students are ready to get jobs, they’ll be older. Since this issue is a developmental issue, most people will have out grown this issue. Plus, they will be more mature, less impulsive, and better able to manage their emotions.
Most employers expect you to adapt you extracurricular activities to your job schedule, not vice-versa.
“Most employers expect you to adapt you extracurricular activities to your job schedule, not vice-versa.”
PLEASE keep writing here.
Parents need to parent, don’t give kids an iPhone or shut it off at 7Pm or 8PM so they can wind down and get to bed. Buy an old-fashioned alarm clock.
Just curious. Are you a parent?
I am a parent of three children. And I totally agree with TBD!
wdf1 wrote:
> Just curious. Are you a parent?
I’m curious why wdf1 would be “curious” if someone who does not want kids to have iPhones in their rooms is a parent…
P.S. I’m a parents and the kids don’t get to take their iPhones (or the iPad) in to their rooms at night…
Why is this relevant?
MrsW below makes some good points. I’ve seen first hand children / teens who have become addicted to their iPhones, it often becomes a modern day “blankey” on steroids! But it is not the sole issue, but its huge for many. Is there proper nutrition, a (somewhat) stable environment, routines, expectations, support, reasonable sleep hours, etc. Yet unmitigated access to the iPhone is Pandora’s Box. I have first-hand exprience that a young person can virtually be two different people with, or without the phone, and yes, this can include serious withdrawal symptoms. The children are too young and too invested for many to know how it impacts them at such a critical stage.
I believe the iPhone is having a profound impact, and while it can be a positive tool, in many ways it is making our dependent and sedentary children even more so on both accounts. I believe a study in England said that 30% of children are addicted to their phones.
TBD: Why is this relevant?
Because you often give a lot of unsolicited advice about parenting but never relate personal experience about being a parent. Sometimes I find your answers a bit off as a result. In our family we don’t use iPhones or any kind of smart phone (that means for many of the reasons mentioned. I also agree with limiting screen time, so I don’t necessarily disagree with some of what you say.
TBD: I’ve seen first hand children / teens who have become addicted to their iPhones, it often becomes a modern day “blankey” on steroids!
But here’s another angle. I do volunteer tutoring for students in Davis, many of whom are from lower income families. In many such families, smart phones serve as a computer, internet connection, calculator, and everything else. They may not have a land line at home, maybe not cable service, or a laptop or notebook computer. But they do have a smart phone. I’m not so sure that they are any more addicted to their smart phones than you are addicted to all of your internet-connected devices.
wdf1 wrote:
> I do volunteer tutoring for students in Davis, many of whom are
> from lower income families. In many such families, smart phones
> serve as a computer, internet connection, calculator, and everything else.
When I’m old and gray I’ll be telling the kids about the “old days” when “low income families” didn’t have smart phones (and flat screen TVs with 100 channels)…
The Holmes chaperones for Ashland’s Shakespeare Fest. were told to take away all the student’s cell phones at lights out because there was a phone in every hotel room. We returned them at breakfast; I thought that was a very good idea.
Sisterhood wrote:
> The Holmes chaperones for Ashland’s Shakespeare Fest. were
> told to take away all the student’s cell phones at lights out
Smart move taking away the phones, on a recent “kids” trip to Tahoe we caught a “kid” (under 12) who brought his own AppleTV to stream (hardcore) porn over the internet from his iPhone to the TV in the hotel room (making him a hero to the other young boys)…
As I was talking with the other Dads we were reminiscing about the 1970’s when we had to read National Geographic to see a topless woman (or steal a Playboy from the barber shop if we wanted to see a topless white woman) we were wondering how many young boys are watching hours of porn every night since every smartphone give them access to pretty much unlimited free porn.
A friend that lives on the Peninsula told me that they recently caught some high school age kids on a trip playing strip poker together using “Facetime” on iPads to let the girls see the boys in their room and the boys to see the girls in their room…
Pretty sure, when I re-read all of our comments, that the answer to the questioned posed is “no, not alone.” However, can also say with certainty that if the question had been posed, instead as “Will taking away cell phones at 8 pm fix the problem of lack of sleep?” The answer would be “no, not alone.” Above, I provided two things that helped our family more. The thing is, we cannot go into each other’s homes and supervise each other, as we take away our children’s cell phones. Nor do we want to. However, there is a Public Institution that we share and how it operates has a huge impact on our children’s physical and mental health. It may not be exactly phrased right, but here is the question I would pose–Can our Public Schools leverage on the results of modern sleep and teen development research to improve overall student emotional and intellectual performance?
i tend to agree – the later start time doesn’t fix this alone, but in conjunction with a holistic strategy, then yes.
btw, have we dealt sufficiently with the over-homework issue?