Chatham Schools Considering Later Start Time For High Schoolers

CHATHAM, NJ — Studies have shown that high schoolers naturally need more sleep for lots of reasons, but many aren’t getting it.

School District of the Chathams' Superintendent Dr. Michael LaSusa told the Board of Education and audience at the board’s meeting on Monday night that the topic of having a later start time for high schoolers has been under discussion for the past few years within the district.

It was a dialogue that was sidelined in the spring of 2020, last talked about just prior to the pandemic’s start.

LaSusa revived the subject at Monday’s meeting, saying multiple studies from the National Sleep Foundation, American Academy of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and other reputable groups, have recommended that ideally, high school students should begin their school day around 8:30 a.m.

Like many high schools, Chatham currently starts its day at 7:40 a.m.

Why Studies Suggest Teens Need More Sleep

“Adolescents need more sleep than adults and an early start time can have negative consequences,” LaSusa said, stressing how important sleep is at this time in a young person’s life.

Biologically, teens have a change in their circadian rhythms, which naturally shifts to later in the day, though in many districts, high schoolers are the first to start and are the most sleep-deprived, he added.

High school students need more sleep for growth and cognitive development, with studies showing sleep deprivation diminishes students’ athletic and academic performances, lowers their grades and increases the likelihood they could engage in risk-taking behaviors. Lowered sleep, he said, elevates student frequency of depression and irritability and increases the likelihood of car accidents.

Trends In Sleep, High School Schedule Changes

LaSusa said many districts across the country have shifted to a later start time for their middle and high schools and found students are sleeping more. He said there’s a misconception that students instead will stay up and wake up later, but the Seattle Public Schools used fitness trackers before and after the change to focus on the actual data, discovering kids were sleeping more.

Over the past five years in Chatham, surveys for grades 6-12 have shown the lack of sleep, especially among high schoolers, has been problematic, with it found on 2016, 2019 and 2021 surveys, students are sleeping less and less, with the lack of sleep greater in females than in male students.

Most middle schoolers, LaSusa said, sleep the appropriate amount eight or more hours nightly. That drops off in high school with only 18.6 percent of high schoolers getting eight or more hours of nightly sleep and, otherwise it’s six or fewer hours. By 11th and 12th grades, he said, they about 15 percent sleep eight hours or more, with about half reporting they get six or few hours of sleep nightly.

The current district schedule is reversed for what kids need physiologically, in terms of sleep, with transportation triple-tiered with the high schoolers the first to be picked up and then middle school, Lafayette and Southern schools. In the afternoon, it's double-tiered, he said.

The current schedule for each is:

High School starts 7:40 a.m. dismisses 2:35 p.m.
Middle School starts 7:55 a.m. dismisses at 2:40 p.m.
Lafayette starts at 8:40 a.m. dismissed at 3:10 p.m.
PK-3 students start at 8:35 a.m. dismisses 3:05 p.m.

Alternatively, LaSusa proposed and said the board will discuss and consider through the springtime a schedule with the potential start times:
High School starting at 8:20 a.m. dismissing at 3 p.m.
Middle School starting at 8 a.m. dismissing at 2:35 p.m.
Lafayette starting at 8:55 a.m. dismissing at 3:25 p.m.
PK-3 students start at 8:55 a.m. dismiss at 3:25 p.m.

Currently students at the high school are there for 6 hours 55 minutes and instead would be there 6 hours 40 minutes, under the new schedule. If the schedule changes, periods would be shortened from 57 minutes to 55 minutes, labs would be 27 extra minutes, and lunch would be reduced from 56 minutes to 54 minutes. Each high school class would meet six fewer minutes physically each 4-day cycle, he said.

“We believe the benefits of providing students with extra sleep far outweigh the loss of six fewer minutes in physical class.” LaSusa said.

LaSusa said overall, busing would improve slightly districtwide, with students still able to be a part of athletics and could be released early, for after-school athletic events if needed.

Online resources implemented in the pandemic, such as Schoology and Google Classroom could help bridge gaps, LaSusa said.

The middle school would be reduced from 49 to 43 minute periods, 33 to 27 minutes for lunch, classes now meeting seven of every eight days, which under the new schedule, they would meet every day.

Other schedule considerations are:

• Flipping Chatham Middle School and the PK-3 or 4-5 schedules, with elementary schools having an earlier start time, which is when younger students tend to be more alert.
• One consideration if elementary schools end earlier and kids arrive home before older siblings, is more after school supervision may be needed, through programs like the Work-Family Connection.

Board Feedback On Suggested Schedule Changes

Board Member Michelle Clark asked that a sleep specialist come and present to the board. She also suggested that families be surveyed how this change could impact them, especially with older siblings looking after younger ones. She asked that impacts on teacher schedules additionally be considered, if they are working different sets of hours and may have more prep time, less instructional or vice-versa. Clark additionally had concerns about the contractual constraints, which LaSusa said it falls in line with the district’s current teacher contracts He proposed that a doctor from the Princeton area versed on the sleep subject, could potentially do a presentation at a future meeting.

Clark also addressed the cut in lunch time at the middle school and suggested this could be the only time kids are able to socialize with peers. LaSusa said lunch was increased a few years back from 25 minutes to 33 for time outside, but because of staff constraints, it’s additional time in the cafeteria, which has been unstructured and has backfired, with students “making decisions that have put them in hot water,” he said. Middle School administrators have felt it is better to currently trim this time down.

Bradley Smith, one of the other board members, asked about the bus contract and LaSusa said after speaking with the bus company, the proposed schedule should be accommodated.

Board Member Michael Ryan said he would like to hear opinions of medical professionals if only 40 extra minutes would make a difference for student sleep, proposing if an hour would be better instead.

Jill Critchley Weber, Board President said more students have been struggling with stress and anxiety in the pandemic, some not previously on the radar; and schedule changes could even be implemented in phases. Some studies have shown most fatal car accidents for teens happen within a mile of home in the later part of the day, with life-altering situations improved potentially, by a change like a later high school start time, she said.

She also asked LaSusa if adjustments can be made mid-year in some areas, suggesting it’s important to be as nimble as possible, to benefit the students and fine-tune schedules, like increasing lunch time, if they see a shorter lunch time isn’t working.

Watch LaSusa’s full presentation and follow up discussion in the video below:

Questions or comments about this story? Have a local news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.