Should School Start Later? (Op/Ed)

Picture by JETTA PRODUCTIONS / GETTY IMAGES

Natonya and Brylee give their editorial opinion on the start time for school and the benefits of starting school later.
by Natonya Clinger and Brylee Sanders

“Beep, beep, beep!” The nagging sound of your alarm blares in your ears, waking you up from your peaceful state of sleep. You begrudgingly get up and prepare to be at school by 7 a.m. Maybe waking up to that alarm wouldn’t be so bad if you went to school later.

Did you know that on average, 30–40 students are late in the morning daily here at WGHS? I think that if we were to move the time, doors unlock at 8:30 and classes start at 9:00, then we would get out of school around 3:45, which is only one hour later than usual. Then these numbers would change and not so many people would be late to school every day. 

There have been multiple studies regarding the health of teenagers and when they should start school. I think starting school between 9:30 and 10:00 would further benefit teenagers; giving them more time to sleep would increase grades, decrease absences, and even help the mental health of students in Walton County. 

Parents.com offers a view, “Many cities and towns across the country have been successful in getting their school districts to change the start times of their middle and high schools. But so far, only two states have been successful on a statewide level. As of July 1, 2022, California mandates an 8:30 a.m. or later start time for its high schools. In 2023, Florida also adopted a similar law mandating later start times for middle and high schools. That law goes into effect in 2026”.

According to Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, “Many studies have shown the benefits of later school starts, including better student attendance, higher test scores, and improved sleep duration; few have used starting times later than 9:00 a.m. results show that changing to a 10:00 a.m. high school start time can greatly reduce illness and improve academic performance.”