BEEP…  BEEP…
BEEP…
The sound of the dreaded alarm. It’s 6 a.m., and school starts at 7:25 a.m., five days a week. Some would rather have school starting at 7 a.m. and some would rather it start at 9 a.m.. There are many different reasons why some schools start so early, and why some don’t.
Some students that have jobs may already have struggles with time management, with having to do school, work and homework, and if they do a sport it could be even harder to manage. If the school day started later, it would likely have to end later too.
There are also minor labor laws in place. In Ohio, students under the age of 16 cannot work after 7 p.m. while school is in session. If the school day ended at 4:30 p.m., students under 16 would only be able to work a maximum of two and a half hours before having to stop working for the day.
Also, with there being 27 different varsity sports at Hayes, there are a lot of activities that students participate in. Some sports like football and soccer need to practice in the same place and have to plan specific times to be there. If the school day started later, practices might have to start even later in the day.
Another example of sports practices would be swimming and diving. The swim team practices at the Ohio Wesleyan pool at 4:45 in the morning.
Mia Saksa is a sophomore swimmer and is also a cheerleader.
“I have [club] swim practice and that doesn’t end until 9:00 on Mondays and Wednesdays, so I normally am in bed by 10 or 10:30,” Saksa said. “[Hayes] practices are normally bright and early from 5:00-6:30 a.m. and then I have meets on the weekends.”
There is only so much time during the day, and if students stay late to be at practice, it can impact their sleep schedule, education or make it much more difficult to be sustainable.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, teenagers ages 13-18 should get 8-10 hours of sleep. With the school day starting later, students will get the necessary extra hours of sleep. Which in effect, can help with the education overall.
“If you don’t get enough sleep, you still have to wake up at the same exact time every morning and be expected to meet expectations at school,” junior Emily Vilchinsky said. “[With the school day starting two hours later] you will definitely be more present. I feel a lot more happy and ready to start the day with two hour delays.”
Students that don’t get enough sleep can have trouble with staying focused during classes. According to the University of Utah, when kids don’t get enough sleep, their brains lapse into sleep-like brainwave patterns, which is why they space out during class.
“[My biggest challenge is] maintaining focus in classes, because it is easy to want to fall asleep in some of them,” Saksa said.
Many students have thoughts on what time the school day should start.
Junior Oscar Tello said that he would rather the day start one or two hours earlier than later.
“I would have more time for myself after school,” Tello said.
Junior Carter Sharp said he would rather the school day start at 7:30 than later. “I like to be done with my stuff earlier in the day,” Sharp said.
However, some students want the school day to start later.
“I would definitely say [the school day should start at] 9:30 because I have seen a difference in my learning when we have two hour delays and the amount of information I maintain,” Saksa said. “I’m more rested and I’m more energized when I get home from school.”
There are different ideas on when the school day should start and when it should end.
“I would want it to start at 9:30 and still end at 2:30 or even 3:30,” Vilchinsky said.
There are currently no plans in the district to reconsider the starting time for school. However, student opinion on whether or not that should happen is definitely split.