OpEd: Schools Need To Start Later…and Here’s Why

All students know the struggle of waking up and getting ready for school. The alarm goes off with that annoying sound and all you want to do is click snooze and go right back to that dream you were having. But, we all know that’s not possible most days. A lot of the time, many children (mostly teenagers) are up all night trying to get that one last homework assignment done, studying for an exam, or even coming back from a late night shift at work. It’s a struggle to wake up, five days a week, way earlier than anybody prefers.

After getting ready it comes the time that most students dread…the school day itself. Not only is it annoying to actually have to get up, but to then sit in the classroom between the early hours of the morning and get lectured for hours. Half the time, students’ brains are still trying to wake up and get through the day. This can be a cause in lack of paying attention, listening, and managing to stay awake during a full lesson.

These are all issues that should be fixed. Not only for students who just want to sleep in, but to provide a better and healthier way to learn. A good and effective solution to this, would be to start schools at a later time.

Schools starting at a later time, would give students the opportunity to have time to fully wake up and have more comfortable duration in the morning. According to, it’s been known that many high school students don’t normally eat breakfast before school as well, because of the time crunch or just because they can be a little lazy. We all have heard about breakfast being the most important meal of the day. Eating breakfast really is important because it gets your day started and something really wakes you up. Students not having enough time to eat breakfast also affects their academic performance.

Giving students plenty of comfort time can be a great way to provide better academic performance for many students. And, not only will it be better academically, but it will also improve attendance, behavior, and tardiness.

“I feel like if I had more time in the morning, I wouldn’t be as tired during school…and it would be a lot easier to pay attention,” says Cynthia Reyes, a sophomore at Silver Creek High School.

Another focus is the new upcoming classman who had to adjust to the time difference between middle and high school says, “It was really hard to change from being able to wake up a little later, to feeling a lot earlier now in High School” Leslie Quintanar, a freshman at Silver Creek High School.

There doesn’t need to be a dramatic change in the school’s start time. A lot of students believe that it should at least be an hour difference to see a change. It is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics that middle and high schools should start at least 8:30am. Most schools are starting before 8:30. 93% of high schools and 83% of middle schools in the U.S. start before 8:30 a.m. This is way too early and much more benefits can occur if schools decide to start later.

Academic performance, tire/grogginess, behavior, and so many more can all be improved if schools start at a later time. Students would definitely be happier with more time in the morning.