This year (2021) has been stressful with going back to school under Covid-19 guideline regulations.  Many people believe that schools should begin later because students need to be more alert and have better attendance which could be fixed if school start times are later.

The National Sleep Foundation states that children ages 6-13 should get at least 9-11 hours of sleep They also state that 60% of middle school students do not get enough sleep on school nights.

The CDC states the average teenager goes to bed at 10:45pm and falls asleep at 11:00pm

Here are some pros of why school should start later: improved attendance, decreased tardiness, fewer occurrences of falling asleep in class, reduced irritability and depressive symptoms, and the biggest one, fewer disciplinary issues.

“I usually wake up three people a day in first block,” Mrs. Skiba, a Colonia Middle School teacher, said.

Many students think it’s a great idea and would be a great decision. “We can be more productive in class,” Shlock M 7th grade student at CMS, said.

Although it’s not a bad idea some students disagree. Camilla Moran an 8th grade student states, “ You would have to stop school later, some teachers give hours of homework and we wouldn’t have enough time to finish it.”

Some cons why school should start later are scheduling conflicts with parents, transportation issues, and childcare/daycare issues. 

Although there are some cons of starting school later, there are a lot more pros which means that it will be a good decision.