Dear Board of Education Members,
We are part of a growing group of more than 600 parents of adolescents or soon-to-be-adolescents in the New Canaan Public School system who are concerned that children in Grades 7-12 begin their school day at 7:30 a.m., a start time that doctors have told us is harmful to an adolescent’s health. It is time for New Canaan to prioritize fixing this problem.
Later School Start Times Improve Teen Health
Most adolescents are chronically sleep-deprived and early school start times are a big part of the problem, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All three medical organizations recommend that 7th-to-12th-graders start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.
Teens have trouble falling asleep before 11 p.m. due to a biological shift in circadian rhythms that occurs in all adolescents; they are simply not sleepy earlier. With a 7:30 a.m. start time, the window for sleep is not long enough for them to get the required 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep. Not only are our adolescents in New Canaan getting too few hours of sleep, but when we wake them up at 6 a.m. to catch the bus—or even if we let them sleep until 6:50 a.m. and drive them to school—they also miss out on REM sleep, which is critical for memory and learning new material.
Why should we care so much about sleep? Because more sleep for students results in improved academic performance, improved abstract thinking, improved efficiency in completing homework, better sports performance, fewer sports injuries, decreased rates of car accidents, improved mental health with decreased risk of anxiety and depression, a decrease in risky behaviors such as alcohol and drug use, and better impulse control.
Top School Districts Are Taking Action
New Canaan will not stand alone in adopting healthier school start times. High-performing school districts across the country are taking action.
Outside of Connecticut, the top-ranked districts in Illinois, Massachusetts, Colorado, New Jersey and other states have recently changed to later start times as well.
Locally, Greenwich High School and Newtown High School changed start times to 8:30 a.m. and 8 a.m. in 2017. Wilton has been starting at 8:20 a.m. for more than 10 years. Westport, Norwalk and other Fairfield County districts are discussing it, and Ridgefield has pledged to start implementing a later start in 2020. At St. Luke’s, where the high school starts at 8:30 a.m. three days a week and 9 a.m. two days a week, Head of School Mark Davis recently said about their start time change: “We did the research. We saw the facts. And we made a decision that serves children better. The well-being of our students trumps everything else. If we want them to thrive we need to consistently evaluate our culture and ask: Is what we’re doing good for students?”
Prioritize Health Over Logistics
In the coming weeks, you have the opportunity to initiate a change that will have a broad impact on the health and well-being of our adolescents. We understand the task at hand and realize that it won’t be easy to uproot a system that has been in place for decades. But with careful planning from the Board, the administration, teachers, the bus company, and dedicated parents, a later start can co-exist with sports schedules and extracurriculars.
The obstacles we face cannot override brain science. We urge you to be at the forefront of this national health movement. We can no longer ignore the scientific evidence that sleep plays a significant role in our students’ health and well-being. It is the responsibility of the Board of Education to continuously improve the educational environment of our children and advocate for their best interests.
Community members who are interested in learning more can visit the website Healthy School Start Times New Canaan.
Sincerely,
Karen Willett and Ben Hoffstein
Janie and Jason Konidaris
Heather and Rob Moore
Barbara and David Rucci
Megan and Jim Steele
Kirsten and Kevin Arrix
Gaby and Duke Beecher
Jayne and Tom Benton
Robin and Chris Biasotti
Alexis C. and Jeffrey J. Brooks, M.D.
Bill Bryant
Marisol and John Bush
Jill Castle, MS, RD
Jessica and Justin Connolly
Jill and Tom Crystal
Lucy and Matt Dathan
Anna and Elias Diamantis
Alana and Nick DiMuzio
Annie and Matt Drapkin
Darleen and Jason Ferraro
Karen and Mike Fico
Jaime and Pat Fitzpatrick
Marnie and William Flynn, M.D.
Marjorie and Nat Furman
Tindley and Huw Gilbert
Suzanne and John Harrison
Aurelia and Brandon Heagle
Erin and Mitch Hoffman
Sara and Dave Koch
Carrie Kurtz and Dan Chandra
Tori and Jonathan Legge
Kaitlyn and Rob Lowe
Maria and Marc Magliacano
Tracey Masella, LCSW
Stacy and Steve Mettler
Stacy and Christian Murphy
Judi and Craig Panzano
Janie and Ehab Rashad
Katharine and Cory Reagan
Julie and Michael Reeves
Michelle and Rich Riley
Cathy and Brian Rogers
Robin and Patrick Russell
Michele and Kevin Salmini
Anne and Karl Schimmeck
Kristin and Steve Seelert
Susan and John Seelert
Nancy and Mike Shullman
Danielle and Ted Sibilia
Danielle and Mike Sieckhaus
Michele and Rob Sloan
Shannon and Andy Smith
Mary and Steve Sommers
Megan and Pat Stanley
Lisa and David Strupp
Merrily Mellick Sturcke
Tanaz and Lindsay Warren
Wendy and Scott Werneburg
Rachel and Jon Whitcomb
Ann and Keith Whittaker
Angela Wilson, RN, APRN
Megan and Craig Wunderlich
Allison and Eric Zinczenko
Jaime and Kendall Sneddon are in support of the later start time and would like to add our names to this op-ed. Thank you.
Ed and Melody Libonati are in favor of a later start time…we were in favor of it the first time this issue was discussed years ago. The early start time had a negative effect on my children…we need to act on this to stop the physical and mental harm on future students.
Bonnie and Martin Baker are in support and favor later start times – – in line with compelling science and common sense, as well as our shared community desire, that values and ensures New Canaan remains a top, go-to educational town.
Perhaps the reason our school leaders have taken so very long to realize the need for a change and have a plan is that they themselves are sleep deprived. No less than the Harvard Business Review has written about how managers need more rest, too. Recent data from the National Health Interview Survey shows that nearly one-third of Americans get less than the six minimum hours of needed sleep. For our leaders, it is even worse according to the Center for Creative Leadership, which found 42% of managers get six or fewer hours of sleep. And, a recent study found that sleep deprived managers were more impatient, irritable and antagonistic. They showed poor judgement, lack of self-control and impaired creativity.
If the BOE does not see it your way — maybe people on the 600 list
could run for BOE in next years election — just a thought
Adding my name to this letter; hoping this change is implemented soon!