Staff graphic by Stewart Moon
Major medical organizations, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics, have endorsed later school start times for adolescents, yet few schools have taken action. In Indiana, the average school start time is 7:58 a.m., according to the CDC, while the AAP recommends middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
Administrators cite myriad reasons for not starting later. Common concerns are the effect a later start would have on extracurricular activities, after-school jobs, child care and bus routes. Despite this, a few school corporations in Indiana have tried starting later. While the shift hasn’t been successful for all of them, most of the people interviewed for this story said they found a way to make it work.
The Metropolitan School District of Lawrence Township was an early adopter of a later start. Corporation spokeswoman Dana Altemeyer said administrators at the Indianapolis-area school corporation initiated the conversation about four years ago. The school board commissioned a study that was supported by Indianapolis-based Community Health Network.
“The research shows they’re not ready at 7:30 to learn,” Altemeyer said.
The findings of the study were shared with parents through community forums. The response was overwhelmingly supportive, Altemeyer said, and the school board unanimously approved changing start times corporation-wide in 2011. Secondary schools went from a 7:30 a.m. start to 8:50 a.m., while elementary schools went from an 8:40 a.m. start to 8 a.m. Those have been the start times ever since.
“We listened to the research, and it worked,” Altemeyer said.
Teachers have noticed a difference, she said. Students are more alert, and Altemeyer said one administrator who was principal at Belzer Middle School at the time of the change, told her he saw a decrease in student tardiness.
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