The halls have been buzzing with the excitement about high schools possibly having a later start time. The rumors were somewhat confirmed when superintendent Sandra Smyser posted the district’s plans to conduct a “school start time study” saying, “the Board of Education agreed with PSD’s proposed plan to study changing school start times this year. Board members emphasized they favored consideration of budget neutral options, wanted to see options that had middle and high schools starting no earlier than 8:30 a.m., hoped for minimal impacts to elementary school students and believed that community engagement was critical.”

Unfortunately for upperclassmen, if the plan does succeed, the changes still won’t go into effect until the 2019-2020 school year. But is this a good change?

This argument seems like common sense, especially with the support of so many studies. There is one shared by PSD done by the American Medical Association (AMA) which, like many others, recommends start times be synchronized with adolescent sleeping patterns. However, nothing is ever that simple, and the process would be rigorous before changing all the bell schedules.

The PSD orchestrated study will begin with a survey that will be sent electronically to families, students, staff, and others in the district. It will hopefully gauge the community’s opinion. All students should keep an eye out for the survey. It will be followed by meetings with a variety of groups, more surveys for the public, and a final decision made by the board of education.

Some community members are concerned about the costs involved with this movement because of the bus schedules. A later start time means more busses and a whole new schedule. American Medical Association (AMA) board member Dr. William Koebler says, “While implementing a delayed school start time can be an emotional and potentially stressful issue for school districts, families, and members of the community, the health benefits for adolescents far outweigh any potential negative consequences,”

Junior Anna Brannaman says that “yeah, on the surface level sleeping in would be nicer, but what time would we get out? What about sports and people who have jobs?” These are good questions and would need to be addressed in the discussion phase or in the survey.

Forrest Smith is also concerned about the time school would let out, but Kiara Gray thinks a late start would be awesome, saying, “I work two jobs, and I don’t get home till 9 o’clock, then I have to do tons of homework, so a later start would help me a lot.”

Because of the clear benefits to kids, Thompson School District in Loveland has already announced later start times for high school students starting next school year. High schools will start at 8:30, with dismissal at 3:50; middle schools in at 8:45 and out at 4:00; and elementary schools will start at 8:00 (a half hour earlier) and end at 3:10.

Sleep is a key role in the health of teens, as well as cognitive ability. Yes, this change could pose the possibility of an inconvenience for parents, teachers, and some students, but at the end of the day it comes down to what do we care more about, the routines we’ve become accustomed too, or the health of our youth? It’s certainly worth looking into.