Gio Noyola

English 1102
Mrs. Huegelmann

School Start Times

High schools these days have start times that are way too early for young teenagers. The
average high school in America starts at 7:59 a.m. (USA Today) It is outrageous because it
doesnt allow for most students to get at least eight hours of sleep a night. Students are not ready
to learn at such an early time and it can take a toll on their grades. This early start time can also
lead to a high amount of tardies, lack of attention in class, and even teen car accidents. I know I
had difficulty getting to school on time after getting six hours or less of sleep. I also was not even
close to ready for learning statistics at 7:40 in the morning.
The solution to this time problem would be to have high schools start at 10 a.m. This
would be the perfect time because this is when students brains are ready to learn. More students
would be on time to class since they would have extra time in the morning to get ready. Students
and teachers would be able to get more sleep resulting in better attitudes towards learning. There
would also be a rise in GPA and maybe even higher standardized test scores. The only problem
some students would have with the later start time could be athletics. If school went from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. sport practices and events would have to start between 5:30-6:00 p.m. A way to
handle this would be to have practices take place before school and if there are games just have
them take place right after school.
In the future I think we will see a variety of school start times across the country. Schools
will start to realize that kids need more sleep in order to function in the morning. The minority of

students that are athletes can work around the school schedule and have practices before the first
period bell. The later start time will bring students grades up, increase attentiveness in class, and
reduce tardiness. It will all come down to when high schools realize what schedule best fits the
students life.

Works Cited
High Schools wake up to later start times: our view. USA Today. n.d. Web. 16 May
2016,