By Peyton Dauley
Since the first day of school, there has been one notable difference for MMHS students: a later school start time. With a fifty minute delay, bringing first bell from 7:30 to 8:20, Mashpee scholars and staff found themselves affected in multiple ways.
The change has been largely polarizing to students and faculty alike. Supporters of a later start time often highlight the benefits of teenagers receiving more sleep, including an improved academic performance and focus. Meanwhile, opposers point out the schedule disruptions caused by an hour’s delay, affecting daycare, sports, extracurriculars, and even jobs.
Since the first day of school, there has been one notable difference for MMHS students: a later school start time. With a fifty minute delay, bringing first bell from 7:30 to 8:20, Mashpee scholars and staff found themselves affected in multiple ways.
The change has been largely polarizing to students and faculty alike. Supporters of a later start time often highlight the benefits of teenagers receiving more sleep, including an improved academic performance and focus. Meanwhile, opposers point out the schedule disruptions caused by an hour’s delay, affecting daycare, sports, extracurriculars, and even jobs.
The change was approved by the Mashpee School Committee in May 2018, as reported by Steven Withrow for the Mashpee Enterprise. However, the start times were not officially altered until the 2019-2020 school year began. With this change, Quashnet and K.C. Coombs were also pushed back: starting at 9:05, and ending at 3:35.
Supporters of this later start time saw many benefits for middle and high school students. According to the Start School Later Movement, starting at a later time can improve alertness or cognitive skills, increase academic performance, reduce risk of car accidents, and allow more sleep per night. It also suggests that teenagers have 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep per night, something that might be accommodated for with a later start time.
A 2018 University of Washington study reviewed the immediate effects of a 55-minute delay in school start times. These effects of the change included a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep, alongside other benefits. Restoring sleep cycles in adolescents is a primary goal of most school administrations--and Mashpee is no different. Already, some students have reported feeling as though they have received more sleep.
MMHS junior Sean Smith stated that “At first I hated it, and before the school year started, I dreaded it. But as the year has gone by [the] new schedule has worked well for me, and I feel like I am getting more sleep.”
Although some of these studies conflict when done over a longer period of time. An Oxford University Press study done in 2018, just a month before Mashpee decided to move their start time, studied the effects of just a 45-minute change on high school students throughout the whole year. While it found that students who went to school at 8:15 instead of 7:30 generally showed more alertness and less sleepiness, it also measured that students only received about ten minutes of additional sleep time over a nine-month period.
Some students are finding that the changes made to the school schedule seem more trivial than they are worth, for such a small increase in sleep time. School athletes specifically were affected by the change--all practices now end later, and students must be dismissed an hour earlier for games at Hull or Martha’s Vineyard, amongst other locations. “[When I’m] trying to get homework done after practice I’m up all night,” said Zoe Farren, a senior on Mashpee’s field hockey team.
Another field hockey player, Julie Cambra, elaborated on this. “If I didn’t play sports I wouldn’t mind, but I hate how early we have to leave [for games],” she said, adding that some sports like golf have to leave as early as lunch time.
Students involved with sports also worry about scheduling conflicts with the extra hour of school reaching into the afternoon, and this concern applies to those involved in clubs as well. “I appreciate the extra hour of sleep, but I’m concerned about sports and job hours conflicting,” said MMHS senior Paul Menke. “If practice ends an hour later, that can ruin the job hours that I desperately need to save for college.”
However, Mashpee maintains its position on the later start time as being beneficial for students in the long run. “By providing our adolescent students with the opportunity to gain an additional hour of quality sleep in the morning we will improve their overall physical and emotional well-being,” said Mrs. DeBoer in an email. She also emphasized that studies have proven that sleep is most essential in its early morning stage, and that this change will improve student wellness.
“We provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to be successful at each stage of their childhood educational journey,” Mrs. DeBoer continued. “But without a healthy body and mind, achievement of goals won’t happen.”
Supporters of this later start time saw many benefits for middle and high school students. According to the Start School Later Movement, starting at a later time can improve alertness or cognitive skills, increase academic performance, reduce risk of car accidents, and allow more sleep per night. It also suggests that teenagers have 8.5-9.25 hours of sleep per night, something that might be accommodated for with a later start time.
A 2018 University of Washington study reviewed the immediate effects of a 55-minute delay in school start times. These effects of the change included a median increase of 34 minutes of sleep, alongside other benefits. Restoring sleep cycles in adolescents is a primary goal of most school administrations--and Mashpee is no different. Already, some students have reported feeling as though they have received more sleep.
MMHS junior Sean Smith stated that “At first I hated it, and before the school year started, I dreaded it. But as the year has gone by [the] new schedule has worked well for me, and I feel like I am getting more sleep.”
Although some of these studies conflict when done over a longer period of time. An Oxford University Press study done in 2018, just a month before Mashpee decided to move their start time, studied the effects of just a 45-minute change on high school students throughout the whole year. While it found that students who went to school at 8:15 instead of 7:30 generally showed more alertness and less sleepiness, it also measured that students only received about ten minutes of additional sleep time over a nine-month period.
Some students are finding that the changes made to the school schedule seem more trivial than they are worth, for such a small increase in sleep time. School athletes specifically were affected by the change--all practices now end later, and students must be dismissed an hour earlier for games at Hull or Martha’s Vineyard, amongst other locations. “[When I’m] trying to get homework done after practice I’m up all night,” said Zoe Farren, a senior on Mashpee’s field hockey team.
Another field hockey player, Julie Cambra, elaborated on this. “If I didn’t play sports I wouldn’t mind, but I hate how early we have to leave [for games],” she said, adding that some sports like golf have to leave as early as lunch time.
Students involved with sports also worry about scheduling conflicts with the extra hour of school reaching into the afternoon, and this concern applies to those involved in clubs as well. “I appreciate the extra hour of sleep, but I’m concerned about sports and job hours conflicting,” said MMHS senior Paul Menke. “If practice ends an hour later, that can ruin the job hours that I desperately need to save for college.”
However, Mashpee maintains its position on the later start time as being beneficial for students in the long run. “By providing our adolescent students with the opportunity to gain an additional hour of quality sleep in the morning we will improve their overall physical and emotional well-being,” said Mrs. DeBoer in an email. She also emphasized that studies have proven that sleep is most essential in its early morning stage, and that this change will improve student wellness.
“We provide our students with the knowledge, skills, and strategies to be successful at each stage of their childhood educational journey,” Mrs. DeBoer continued. “But without a healthy body and mind, achievement of goals won’t happen.”