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November 9, 1999
To the West Windsor Plainsboro Board of Education and Administration:
We regret we could not be present at tonight’s meeting, and appreciate our voice being heard via the reading of this letter.
As some of you are aware, the hottest topic of discussion on the WWP Today website is the early start times of the middle and high schools. In considering a change, one of the most compelling factors is the research on teenagers and their need for sleep, much of which has come from “sleep labs” at Brown and Stanford University, as well as the National Sleep Foundation. We have provided copies of some of the relevant research to the board and administration tonight.
The research shows that adolescents need at least nine hours of sleep each night, and that as their hormones change, so does their sleep cycle. This naturally occurring change in the sleep cycle causes a shift to later sleep patterns. Under our current schedule, our teenagers cannot get enough rest because they cannot fall asleep at least nine hours before they have to get up to catch their buses. With buses picking students up between 6:45 and 7:10, and assuming the average child needs 45 minutes to get ready to meet the bus, our teens would have to fall asleep no later than 9:00 each night to get the proper amount of sleep. Because they cannot, the result is sleep deprivation, which negatively affects our children physically, emotionally and academically, and leads to information processing and memory deficits, increased irritability, anxiety, depression, and decreased creativity and ability to handle complex tasks. Additional sleep on weekends (when almost ALL teenagers sleep more hours than they do during the week, attesting to their deficit) does NOT offset these effects.
Based on these findings, school districts around the country are considering and instituting later school start times for middle and high schools. Most notable are schools in Minneapolis and its suburbs, which pushed back their start times over an hour and a half in 1997. A spokesperson for the schools there says, “Since then, the kids have flourished. Test scores and grades are rising. The kids seem much more alert and happy with their lot.” Teachers and nurses there say the later bell has led to better attendance, less illness, less tardiness, fewer disciplinary problems, and greater student achievement. “My early-morning students have turned from ‘zombies’ into active participants,” says one teacher. A recent poll by the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement shows only a quarter of teachers nationwide prefer a school start time prior to 8 a.m.
On the local level, we have spoken with many parents, students, teachers, and one school nurse, and nearly everyone has expressed dissatisfaction with current school hours. Our children leave no doubt that there is room for improvement. One of our sixth-grade daughters says not a single day goes by when she does not hear the words “I am SO tired” from several of her classmates. We would like to suggest that the board carefully read the research and perhaps conduct a district-wide survey to determine how people feel about later start times.
We recognize that the impact of a schedule change on busing and after-school activities will have to be examined. However, until our children are getting sufficient sleep, the truth is we may never realize our true potential in this district. In closing, a quote from John Kennedy comes to mind. “Some men see things as they are and ask Why? I see things as they could be and ask Why not?” As a Blue Ribbon district, West Windsor Plainsboro should be a leader in recognizing the importance of this research and responding to our children’s needs. It is our hope that, after hearing and reading the information presented tonight, the board will reconsider the reasons for our current hours, and give careful thought to a change that would make our great district even better.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Michele Brett
Deborah Hornstra
and a group of concerned parents
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