In Fall 2021, the School Committee formed a School Start Times Subcommittee to review schedules at the secondary schools. Currently, our high school starts at 7:25am. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association both recommend that secondary schools start no earlier than 8:30am. Research has demonstrated that chronic sleep deprivation in adolescents is associated with medical, mental health, safety, and behavioral issues.
In Fall, 2022, it is anticipated that the Subcommittee will make recommendations to the School Committee on changes to start times that are informed by community input, medical research, and the management of logistics involved in any change, particularly around bus transportation schedules. Any change to school start times will be no earlier than the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
School Start Times Subcommittee meetings are open to the public. Agendas and minutes are available online. A list of scenarios can be found here.
Health and Wellness Information
There is a wealth of research on adolescent sleep and the impact of later school start times. The links provided below are not comprehensive, but help in providing an initial overview of the research.
