Sleep deprivation and school

[singlemomsam]

So here it is the end of summer and both my son and I are looking forward to the start of school. He has good teachers, knows the staff there, has a nice bunch of friends and it's time for him to do something besides stare at a screen.

My only anxiety about school is how early it starts. WHY are these folks not reading the research? My guy sleeps ten hours a night, if possible. During the school year, we're lucky if it's eight. Exhaustion tends to trigger migraines for him...not to mention the dark circles under his eyes.

I wrote the school superintendent, with documentation attached, and got the usual response of how it's because of buses, and how if school ran late kids wouldn't have time for jobs, sports, etc. My reply was I'd rather have him rested and able to learn well and I'd be happy to drive/arrange other transportation. I just hope that schools get it in time for my future grandchildren.

[Mike Bradley]

A few districts across the country did switch schedules to bring in the the older kids last. They research showed that attendance rates and achievement levels soared, and behavior problems plummeted by simply giving these poor kids ONE HOUR extra sleep. Imagine if this became common practice. Most of those progressive districts then had to reverse course since they were out of schedule sync with their peer school schedules (sports, buses, and so on). When will we learn?