WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Starting your day at high school before 8 a.m. may soon be a thing of the past, at least in Williamsville, where the district is looking into pushing back the start times across all schools.
Williamsville South juniors, Decklan Coleman and Gianna Burton told me that waking up early enough to get to school by the 7:45 a.m. start time can be a struggle.
“If I got that extra 45 minutes, that would be amazing,” Gianna said. “I think a lot of the time, I have to study more with my morning classes, just because I am a little more tired.”
“That’s why people come in late already, for that extra sleep,” Decklan said. “Those first and second periods, those are always the hardest two.”
South principal Keith Boardman is leading a committee looking into pushing back the start times across the Williamsville district.
Right now, the three high schools start at 7:45 a.m., the middle schools start at 8:55 a.m., and the elementary schools start between 8:15 a.m. and 8:55 a.m.
When could Williamsville high schools start instead?
“There are multiple national organizations that say 8:30 a.m. is the time you should be looking at. You should be starting high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m.” Boardman said.
8:30 a.m. is certainly on the table, but Boardman told me they’re still researching before making a final recommendation to the school board, recommendations will likely come this winter.
“In terms of the human circadian rhythm, when you are in adolescence, that is actually the latest your body wants to sleep, even later than adults. Teenagers in general have a natural biological rhythm that says they want to stay up later and later,” Dr. Amanda Hassinger with UBMD Pediatric Sleep Center said. “Those first two periods [of the school day], when teenagers are sleep deprived, they perform much worse.”
“My personal opinion is that this is a necessary change,” school board president Crystal Kaczmarek-Bogner said.
“I think it would give everybody an extra hour of sleep and that can’t be negative,” Decklan said.
“I think it would be a lot more helpful for us,” Gianna said.
