Late start time does not always deliver more sleep

Last year, the decision was made to move the school start time from 7:25 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. with the time school ends also getting moved from 2:10 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Now, students say that the change has little effect, due to many buses coming unnecessarily early, while others say that the change has helped them improve upon their sleep schedule.

The later start time was supposed to change students’ sleep schedules for the better. This change was questioned even in the early stages, with questions arising about the effect on after-school activities and the time students get home and go to bed.

“[The change] doesn’t affect my sleep schedule that much,” junior Mark Farag said. “The buses come early anyway, and we get to school early. Everyone is just as tired. My bus comes at 7:20 a.m., and I go to bed at 11 p.m. I usually have to get up around 5:45 a.m.”

Students like Farag, who is on the wrestling team, have a hard time going to bed at a decent time because of how late they get home and the amount of homework that has to be done.

“The later end time impacts my after-school schedule a lot,” Farag said. “Practice ends at 6 p.m. instead of last year’s 5:30 p.m., and it’s just too late.”

However, not everyone has had the same experience. Junior Sidhant Sharma has had quite a positive experience, and the change has allowed him to fit in more sleep into his schedule.

“It has given me more time to sleep because I wake up later than I did last year,” Sharma said. “I get home around 3:05 p.m., so I have plenty of time to finish everything and have some free time before I go to bed around 11:00 p.m.”