There is much medical data to support a later start time for high school students, but Hamilton Southeastern (HSE) School Superintendent Allen Bourff told school board members there are other considerations to be weighed as the school district mulls changing start times for students.
During a Tuesday morning work session, Bourff explained how medical studies on sleep patterns of high school students have shown more sleep in the early morning hours is most beneficial to high school age students. Schools have been setting up high school schedules based on adult sleep patterns, not schedules better suited for students of high school age, according to Dr. Bourff.
A survey of high school students in the district shows 46% currently sleep 6-7 hours per night, and 28% sleep 5-6 hours. 46% say they nap after school, with 68% responding say they are sleepy during their first two school periods.
When high schoolers were asked whether they would support a high school schedule of 8:55am-3:55pm if grades K-4 had a 7:50am-2:20pm school day, 60% responded yes, but the results were a bit different in the two high school buildings – at Fishers, 66% said yes, at HSE 53% responded yes to the same question.
There would be several challenges if the secondary and elementary schedules were flipped, with scheduling extra curricular activities being one of them. Another issue would be how this would impact students with part-time jobs after school, since they would be leaving school later than under the current schedule. Other high school students may have family responsibilities to care for younger siblings.
Another aspect of this would be the bus transportation system, and the school board spent a long time during the work session looking at the various options in bus schedules under a flipped start time system.
Most of the school corporations near HSE either have already implemented later high school start times or plan to implement such a system next school year.
Dr. Bourff will be conducting a community meeting at HSE High School November 19 at 6pm to present information to the public about this issue and listen to comments.
During the same work session, the board was presented with a program called “Portrait of a Graduate,” aimed at evaluating students on more than standardized test scores.
The program is in the process of being established, and Dr. Bourff told board members he sees this as a partnership between the Hamilton Southeastern Education Association (HSEA) and the school district, with a committee made up of HSEA appointees and some administrators to put this program together.
Administrators say it should be near completion sometime in the spring of 2020 if all goes as scheduled. Bourff says he will ask the school board to vote on a resolution supporting Portrait of a Graduate and board members appeared to be generally supportive of such a resolution.