Your Name
Street Address
City, State/Zip
Phone, fax, and/or email
Today’s date
Addressee
Street Address
City, State/Zip
Dear Superintendent Last Name and Members of the School Board,
I am the parent/guardian of a student presently attending School Name. I am writing to
request that the School District implement healthy start times for middle and/or high
school students. To safeguard the welfare and intellectual potential of these children,
sleep experts recommend a delay in morning classes until 8:30 a.m., or later. (Start time
recommendations available infra; see also, Vedaa, Saxvig, Wilhelmsen-Langeland,
Bjorvatn, & Pallesen, School start time, sleepiness and functioning in Norwegian adolescents
(Feb. 2012) Scandinavian J. Educational Research, pp. 55-67 [10th graders get 66 minutes
more sleep and performance on attention/vigilance tasks improves with one hour start
time delay to 9:30 a.m.].) First period at High School commences time period before the
earliest start time recommended by any expert. (See, e.g., O’Malley & O’Malley, School
Start Time and Its Impact on Learning and Behavior, publish. in, Sleep and Psychiatric
Disorders in Children and Adolescents (Ivanenko edit., Informa Healthcare 2008) pp.
83, 84, 89.) Middle School begins time period too early. (See, e.g., Lufi, Tzischinsky, &
Hadar, Delaying School Starting Time by One Hour: Some Effects on Attention Levels in
Adolescents (Apr. 2011) 7 J. Clinical Sleep Med. 2, pp. 137-143.)
“[O]n school days adolescents are obtaining less sleep then they are thought to need,
and the factor with the biggest impact is school start times. If sleep loss is associated
with impaired learning and health, then these data point to computer use, social
activities and especially school start times as the most obvious intervention points.”
(Knutson & Lauderdale, Sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of bed time and wake
time among U.S. adolescents aged 15–17 years (Mar. 2009) 154 J. Pediatrics 3, p. 426.)
“School schedules are forcing them to lose sleep and to perform academically when they
are at their worst.” (Hansen, Janssen, Schiff, Zee, & Dubocovich, The Impact of School
Daily Schedule on Adolescent Sleep (Jun. 2005) 115 Pediatrics 6, p. 1560, italics added.)
“The earliest school start times are associated with annual reductions in student
performance of roughly 0.1 standard deviations for disadvantaged students, equivalent
to replacing an average teacher with a teacher at the sixteenth percentile in terms of
effectiveness.” (Jacob & Rockoff, Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start
Times, Grade Configurations, and Teacher Assignments (Sept. 2011) Hamilton Project,
Brookings Inst. p. 7.)
Although the evidence in support of delaying start times as benefiting the health,
welfare, and academic performance of adolescents is overwhelming and
uncontroverted (Troxel, The high cost of sleepy teens (May 23, 2012) Pittsburgh PostGazette; Hagenauer, Perryman, Lee, & Carskadon, Adolescent Changes in the Homeostatic
and Circadian Regulation of Sleep (2009) 31 Developmental Neuroscience 4, p. 282), school
schedules are often determined by politics, budgets, and athletics, rather than the best
interests of students. (See Wolfson & Carskadon, A Survey of Factors Influencing High
School Start Times (Mar. 2005) 89 Nat. Assn. Secondary School Principals Bull. 642, pp.
47-66; Wahlstrom, The Prickly Politics of School Starting Times (Jan. 1999) 80 Phi Delta
Kappan 5, pp. 344-347.) There is no sound reason, however, why any of these concerns
should prevail over the well-being of children.
First, any adverse political fallout stemming from a shift to later start times should be
diminished by the burgeoning evidence supporting the change. (See Wahlstrom, School
Start Times and Sleepy Teens (Jul. 2010) 164 Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Med. 7,
pp. 676-677.) Second, a study published in March of 2011 establishes that careful
planning permits later start times to co-exist with athletics and extracurricular activities.
(Kirby, Maggi, & D’Angiulli, School Start Times and the Sleep-Wake Cycle of Adolescents: A
Review and Critical Evaluation of Available Evidence (Mar. 2011) 40 Educational Researcher
2, pp. 56-61.) Third, recent studies anticipate financial gains for schools (and students)
when morning classes are delayed, a significant fact in times of economic hardship.
(Edwards, Do Schools Begin Too Early? (Summer 2012) 12 Education Next 3; Jacob &
Rockoff, Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade
Configurations, and Teacher Assignments, supra, pp. 5-11; Carrell, Maghakian, & West, A’s
from Zzzz’s? The Causal Effect of School Start Time on the Academic Performance of
Adolescents (Aug. 2011) 3 Am. Economic J.: Economic Policy 3, pp. 62-81.) Fourth,
finding ways to adjust start times is the “job of talented, smart school administrators.”
(Taboh, American Teenagers Dangerously Sleep Deprived: Tired teens physically, mentally,
emotionally compromised (Sept. 9, 2010) Voice of Am. News; see also, Riddile, Time Shift:
Is your school jet-lagged? (Mar. 14, 2011) Nat. Assn. Secondary School Principals, The
Principal Difference.)
Consistent with previous studies, the 2011 National Sleep Foundation poll found only
14% of teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 report getting the recommended
number of hours of sleep (9 or more) on school nights. (2011 Sleep in America Poll:
Communications Technology in the Bedroom (Mar. 2011) Nat. Sleep Foundation, p. 40; see
also, 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data User’s Guide (Jun. 2012) Centers for
Disease Control & Prevention, pp. 74, 86; Teens and Sleep Poll a Wake-Up Call, Pediatric
Sleep Experts Say (Mar. 2006) Brown Univ.) “Sleep deprivation among adolescents
appears to be, in some respects, the norm rather than the exception in contemporary
society.” (Roberts, Roberts, & Duong, Sleepless in adolescence: Prospective data on sleep
deprivation, health and functioning (2009) 32 J. Adolescence, p. 1055.) “The consequences
of this sleep deprivation are severe, impacting adolescents’ physical and mental health,
as well as daytime functioning.” (Lund, Reider, Whiting, & Prichard, Sleep Patterns and
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Predictors of Disturbed Sleep in a Large Population of College Students (Feb. 2010) 46 J.
Adolescent Health 2, p. 125.)
In 2010, CDC scientists reported, “Delaying school start times is a demonstrated
strategy to promote sufficient sleep among adolescents.” (Eaton, McKnight-Eily, Lowry,
Croft, Presley-Cantrell, & Perry, Prevalence of Insufficient, Borderline, and Optimal Hours of
Sleep Among High School Students – United States, 2007 (2010) 46 J. Adolescent Health, p.
401.) Dr. Philip Fuller, Medical Director of the Mary Washington Hospital Sleep and
Wake Disorders Center, explains: “Inherently, the majority of kids with a later start will
get more sleep, which is beneficial to grades as well as being safer.” (Sklarew, Getting
A’s with More Z’s: The fight for later school starts has backing from doctors and statistics (Nov.
2011) N. Va. Magazine.) “Students at later starting middle and high schools obtain more
sleep due to later wake times and, in turn, function more effectively in school.”
(Wolfson, Spaulding, Dandrow, & Baroni, Middle School Start Times: The Importance of a
Good Night’s Sleep for Young Adolescents (Aug. 15, 2007) 5 Behavioral Sleep Medicine 3, p.
205.) “By recognizing the shift in biological rhythms during adolescence and delaying
school start times accordingly, classroom experience can be matched to the times when
adolescents are most alert and attentive.” (Coch, Fischer, & Dawson, Human Behavior,
Learning, and the Developing Brain: Typical Development (Informa Healthcare 2010)
pp. 382-383.)
Economists from the University of California and the United States Air Force Academy
note that since later start times have a “causal effect” upon improved academic
performance in adolescents, delaying morning classes may save schools money. “A
later start time of 50 minutes in our sample has the equivalent benefit as raising teacher
quality by roughly one standard deviation. Hence, later start times may be a costeffective way to improve student outcomes for adolescents.” (Carrell, Maghakian, &
West, A’s from Zzzz’s? The Causal Effect of School Start Time on the Academic Performance of
Adolescents, supra, 3 Am. Economic J.: Economic Policy 3, p. 80.) The benefit is greatest
for the bottom half of the distribution, suggesting that delaying start times may be
particularly important for schools attempting to reach minimum competency
requirements. (Edwards, Early to Rise? The Effect of Daily Start Times on Academic
Performance (Dec. 2012) 31 Economics of Education Rev. 6, p. 978.) Brookings Institute
economists “conservatively” estimate that shifting middle and high school start times,
“from roughly 8 a.m. to 9 a.m.” would increase student achievement by 0.175 standard
deviations on average, with effects for disadvantaged students roughly twice as large as
advantaged students. (Jacob & Rockoff, Organizing Schools to Improve Student
Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations, and Teacher Assignments, supra, Brookings
Inst., pp. 10, 21, n. 7.) The economists estimate a corresponding increase in individual
student future earnings of approximately $17,500, at little or no cost to schools; i.e., a 9
to 1 benefits to costs ratio when utilizing single-tier busing, the most expensive
transportation method available. (Id., pp. 5-11.)
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In addition, studies have shown young people between 16 and 29 years of age are “the
most likely to be involved in crashes caused by the driver falling asleep.” (Millman,
edit., Excessive Sleepiness in Adolescents and Young Adults: Causes, Consequences, and
Treatment Strategies (Jun. 2005) 115 Pediatrics 6, p. 1779.) Consistent with a previous
study finding 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. to be the most treacherous travel time for young drivers
(Pack, Pack, Rodgman, Cucchiara, Dinges, & Schwab, Characteristics of Crashes Attributed
to the Driver Having Fallen Asleep (Dec. 1995) 27 Accident Analysis & Prevention 6, pp.
769-775), a five year study by the Ohio Department of Transportation released in
August of 2011 showed that 7 a.m. is “the most dangerous time for teens driving to
school.” (Crashes Involving Teens Triple During Back-to-School (Aug. 23, 2011) Ohio
Department of Transportation.) Given that the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin,
pressures adolescents to sleep until approximately 8 a.m., these outcomes should not be
surprising. (Later Start Times for High School Students (Jun. 2002) Univ. Minn.)
A study published in April 2011 associates early start times in Virginia Beach (7:25 a.m.,
except one school at 7:20 a.m.) with 41% higher crash rates among teen drivers than in
adjacent Chesapeake where classes started at 8:40 a.m. or 8:45 a.m. (Vorona, Szklo-Coxe,
Wu, Dubik, Zhao, & Ware, Dissimilar Teen Crash Rates in Two Neighboring Southeastern
Virginia Cities with Different High School Start Times (Apr. 2011) 7 J. Clinical Sleep Med. 2,
pp. 145-151.) In 1999, school districts in Lexington, Kentucky delayed start times for
high school students county-wide by one hour to 8:30 a.m. Average crash rates for teen
drivers in the study county in the 2 years after the change in school start time dropped
16.5% compared with the 2 years prior to the change, whereas teen crash rates for the
rest of the state increased 7.8% over the same time period. (Danner & Phillips,
Adolescent Sleep, School Start Times, and Teen Motor Vehicle Crashes (Dec. 2008) 4 J. Clinical
Sleep Med. 6, pp. 533–535; see also, Storr, Sleepy teen pedestrians more likely to get hit, UAB
study says (May 7, 2012) Univ. Ala. Birmingham News.) In reviewing the study, John
Cline, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the Yale School of Medicine,
commented, “Given the danger posed to young people from car accidents this is a
strong reason in itself to change school start times.” (Cline, Do Later School Start Times
Really Help High School Students? (Feb. 27, 2011) Psychology Today.) Automobile
accidents represent the leading cause of death among teenagers, accounting for
approximately 40% of teen fatalities annually and billions of dollars in attendant costs.
(CDC, Injury Prevention & Control: Motor Vehicle Safety, Teen Drivers: Fact Sheet.)
A CDC study published in August 2011 found an association between health-risk
behaviors and diminished weeknight sleep in adolescents, corroborating findings from
previous studies. (McKnight-Eily, Eaton, Lowry, Croft, Presley-Cantrell, & Perry,
Relationships between hours of sleep and health-risk behaviors in US adolescent students (Aug.
5, 2011) Preventive Medicine, 1-3; Pasch, Laska, Lytle, & Moe, Adolescent Sleep, Risk
Behaviors, and Depressive Symptoms: Are They Linked? (Mar. 2010) 34 Am. J. Health
Behavior 2, pp. 237-248; O’Brien & Mindell, Sleep and Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescents
(2005) 3 Behavioral Sleep Medicine 3, pp. 113-133.) A July 2011 study by University of
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Nebraska at Omaha criminologists found “preliminary evidence that sleep-deprived
adolescents participate in a greater volume of both violent and property crime....
Further, our results indicate that every little bit of sleep may make a difference. That is,
sleeping 1 (hour) less (i.e., 7 hours) than the recommended range increased the
likelihood of property delinquency, and this risk increased for each hour of sleep
missed.” (Clinkinbeard, Simi, Evans, & Anderson, Sleep and Delinquency: Does the
Amount of Sleep Matter? (Jul. 2011) J. Youth & Adolescence, p. 926.)
In 2009, following a Rhode Island boarding school’s change in start times from 8 a.m. to
8:30 a.m., Dr. Judith Owens found the number of students reporting symptoms of
depression declined, confirming outcomes from the Minnesota longitudinal studies
(high school start times delayed to 8:30 a.m., Edina, 8:40 a.m., Minneapolis). (Owens,
Belon, & Moss, Impact of Delaying School Start Time on Adolescent Sleep, Mood, and
Behavior (Jul. 2010) 164 Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 7, p. 613;
Wahlstrom, Changing Times: Findings From the First Longitudinal Study of Later High
School Start Times (Dec. 2002) 86 Nat. Assn. Secondary School Principals Bull. 633, pp. 3,
13.) Given the relationship between depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents, Dr.
Owens commented the finding was “particularly noteworthy.” (Owens, Belon, & Moss,
Impact of Delaying School Start Time on Adolescent Sleep, Mood, and Behavior, supra, 164
Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 7, p. 613; see also, Dahl, The Consequences
of Insufficient Sleep for Adolescents: Links Between Sleep and Emotional Regulation (Jan. 1999)
80 Phi Delta Kappan 5, pp. 354-359.) Serious consideration of suicide is among the many
health-risk behaviors associated with restricted school night sleep in the 2011 CDC
study. (McKnight-Eily, Eaton, Lowry, Croft, Presley-Cantrell, & Perry, Relationships
between hours of sleep and health-risk behaviors in US adolescent students, supra, Preventive
Medicine, pp. 1-3.) Suicide is the third leading cause of death among U.S. adolescents,
in recent years accounting for 10% or more of all teen fatalities. (CDC Nat. Vital
Statistics System, Mortality Tables.) Recent data put the suicide rate in the general
population at 2.7%. (Miniño, Xu, & Kochanek, Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2008 (Dec. 9,
2010) 59 Nat. Vital Statistics Rep. 2.)
The adolescent sleep pattern runs from about 11 p.m. to 8 a.m. and is “rather fixed.”
(Later Start Times for High School Students, supra, Univ. Minn.) As the National Sleep
Foundation points out, only by carefully controlling light exposure, including wearing
eyeshades to exclude evening light, have scientists been successful in modifying
adolescent circadian rhythms. (Backgrounder: Later School Start Times (2011) Nat. Sleep
Foundation.) Waking an adolescent at 7 a.m. is the “equivalent” of waking an adult at 4
a.m. (Carrell, Maghakian, & West, A’s from Zzzz’s? The Causal Effect of School Start Time
on the Academic Performance of Adolescents, supra, 3 Am. Economic J.: Economic Policy 3,
p. 64.) Joining other Harvard educators in endorsing later start times (e.g., here, here,
here, here, here, pp. 382-383), Professor of Sleep Medicine Susan Redline advises that
7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. classes begin too early for adolescent students to obtain sufficient
sleep and serve to interrupt REM sleep. (Powell, Bleary America needs some shut-eye:
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Forum points to schools, hospitals, factories as ripe for sleep reform (Mar. 8, 2012) Harvard
Science.) Brown University’s Mary Carskadon refers to early school start times as “just
abusive.” (Carpenter, Sleep deprivation may be undermining teen health (Oct. 2001) 32 Am.
Psychological Assn. Monitor 9.)
In 2009, scientists writing in the journal Developmental Neuroscience succinctly stated
the uniformly held position of sleep experts on school start times: “For policy makers,
teachers and parents, these results provide a clear mandate. The effects of sleep
deprivation on grades, car accident risk, and mood are indisputable. A number of
school districts have moved middle and high school start times later with the goal of
decreasing teenage sleep deprivation. We support this approach, as results indicate that
later school start times lead to decreased truancy and drop-out rates.” (Hagenauer,
Perryman, Lee, & Carskadon, Adolescent Changes in the Homeostatic and Circadian
Regulation of Sleep, supra, 31 Developmental Neuroscience 4, p. 282.)
School leaders have a unique capacity to shape the lives of students. (See, Park, Falling
Asleep in Class? Blame Biology (Dec. 15, 2008) CNN.) The time of day when school begins
is different than other issues in education — it has the potential to implicate adolescent
morbidity and mortality. (Sleep Experts Concerned About St. Paul Start Time Change (Jun.
3, 2011) CBS; Vorona, Szklo-Coxe, Wu, Dubik, Zhao, & Ware, Dissimilar Teen Crash Rates
in Two Neighboring Southeastern Virginia Cities with Different High School Start Times,
supra, 7 J. Clinical Sleep Med. 7, pp. 145-151.) Physicians have been urging school
administrators to “eliminate early starting hours for teenagers” since at least 1994.
(Minn. Med. Assn. Letter to Superintendent Dragseth (Apr. 4, 1994) Edina Pub. Schools.)
It’s long past time to start listening.
Yours truly,
Your Name/Title/Affiliation
(Consider citing the reader to some or all Start Time Recommendations, etc. (html, docx,
or pdf), perhaps in lieu of the foregoing letter.)
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