Coming back from our Covid year, many students were delighted to hear that the new high school start time would be at 9:20 am instead of 7:40 am. The most beneficial aspect of the change is that students and teachers are able to get a later start to the day, giving them more time to complete their daily tasks. 

Senior Ashton Schoolfield noted that, “Starting at 9:20 gives us more time to actually wake up and get ready to go learn, unlike the 7:40 starting time.” Similar to Ashton, Senior Alyson Smith agreed that the new start time does have some upside stating that, “It is cool to get a few extra hours in the morning.” 

On the other hand, some students believe that the schedule change was a reward gone wrong, Kris Auguste (‘23) explained that, “I feel like the school board thought they were doing something for us since we are known to stay up, but they are just letting us build our bad habits.”

The mixed reactions among the student body are to be expected, when do teenagers ever agree? 

Students are not the only ones who have to experience and experiment with the new schedule, the teachers do too. English teacher Laura Spicer explained that, “I didn’t think moving the start time for students was a bad idea. There is research that suggests that high school students’ circadian rhythm is kinda geared towards staying up later, getting up later.”

The ideology behind the later start time does not seem to be an issue for teachers, many agree that the 9:20 start time helps students pay more attention in class. But a common issue for teachers regarding the start time is how they are supposed to help students with work when the schedule doesn’t have allotted time for tutoring. Spicer expanded on that idea by stating, “unless a student can come in early, which is not something all students can do, especially with the bus situation, we’re having a hard time if a student is absent finding time for students to come in makeup work or for tutoring, so that’s a real issue.”