Getting up so early

[wantsomethingbetter]

:mad: I have to wake up up at 5:30 every morning for school and I hate it! No matter what time I go to bed I still am very tired when I get to school. Why won't CMS let high school start later? I know for a fact that this would cut down on students falling asleep in school.

[GrayCat]

Several studies have shown that high school kids do better with a later start time. It appears H.S. kids do need more rest than other children.


I think I read where Minneapolis, MN is experimenting with this and so far are generally pleased. Attendance has increased and grades have improved.

[clevertd]

Garinger and Waddell start at 8:45 and end at 3:45. I might just be stirring the pot, but here are some statistics on those respective schools:

Garinger Racial Distribution
African-American 68.11%
Asian 7.03%
Hispanic 13.07%
Multi-Racial 0.36%
Native American 0.57%
White 10.87%

Waddell Racial Distribution
African-American 55.44%
Asian 4.84%
Hispanic 20.46%
Multi-Racial 0.30%
Native American 0.20%
White 18.75%


Back onto the subject matter though, I'll get 8 hours of sleep and still find myself falling asleep in school from time to time just because of the fact that this is what happens to a teenager because their bodies are different. If I find a study on google, I'll post it.

[Dave Pinard]

http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/images/perm_images/NRM_logo_small.jpg
AUGUST 30, 2004

VOLUME 1 NO. 15 Delayed by the bell Teens may be hardwired to sleep in

By Peter Woodford


http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/images/article_logos/feature.jpg "Teenage wasteland, it's only teenage wasteland," sang The Who in their 1971 classic "Baba O'Reilly." Those words ring true for Windsor substitute teacher Harriet Wilson-Robichaud. "That song always makes me think of the zonked out kids in my homeroom class," she says ruefully. Indeed, many North American teens arrive at school in a pretty sorry state, with far less than the recommended nine-and-a-quarter hours of sleep per night. Finding out why teens are so ill-rested and what can be done about it have been hot topics for sleep researchers of late.

Read the rest of the article here... (http://www.nationalreviewofmedicine.com/issue/2004_08_30/feature04_15.html)

[Dave Pinard]

Today's kids are a groggy group — and that not only makes them moody and irritable, it prevents them from learning.
By Margery D. Rosen

When he was younger, he (almost always) bounded out of bed. But by the time he was 8 or 9, you needed a crane to lift him. Now 13, he sits zombie-like in class and tries, if possible, to nap during assembly. Around 4 p.m., just as soccer practice begins, he feels an energy surge that dips around 7 only to spike again at around 10 p.m. Repeated reminders to go to bed are ignored. You lose this nightly bedtime battle because he is now wide awake, IM-ing friends until midnight, forgetting how flat-out exhausted he was earlier. Come the weekend, he binge-sleeps until noon because that's the only way he can at least be ambulatory during the upcoming week.

Read the rest of the article here... (http://www.scholastic.com/familymatters/raisingkids/sleep.htm)

[Mom4Change]

Why is it that high school students begin classes at 7 a.m.? Is it because of the bus schedules? I believe that County Commissioner Wilhelmenia Rembert broached this subject when she was on the school board, but I don't think anything came of it. Anyone have any insight into this? :sleep_1:

[StressedOutStudent]

i agree. school starts way too early for high school students. i have to wake up at 5:45 every morning, and thats when i hit the snooz 7 times. if i dont fall asleep in class, i come home and nap for 3 or 4 hours. than, when its time for me to go to sleep at night, im not tired at all! after my nap im rushing to get my hw dont befor dinner. Than when the weekend finnaly comes i sleep til like 12!!! i think that if i didnt have to wake up so early my grades would deffinatly improve. :sleep_1:

[Unregistered]

Over and over again I read from students how early the high school start times are. Now factor in how much earlier the busses need to come to get them there on time. Also, factor in that it seems that if they are late a certain number of times they get suspended.

Do you think all of these policies help or hinder kids from being in school and excelling? Why if someone is tardy would they get a suspension? Is it easy to rack up some tardies when your bus comes at 6:00 am and you miss it. What do you think I would tell my child to do if his current tardiness would give him a suspension on his record? Do you think I would tell him to skip and come home or get a suspension on his record.

It is obvious that test scores drop off dramatically at the high school level.
Does anyone think these policies are contributing to the low test scores. If the start times were later do you think more kids would make it to class?
Hello, does anyone Care!!!!!

[Unregistered]

My elementary children are picked up by the bus at 6:38 am. This is all part of reducing the racial gap in CMS. CMS is purposely doing this to place an unfair disadvantage on suburban white children to disrupt their learning. CMS is all about helping the poor black student. This is just another method to disadvantage the white suburban student. CMS also purposely overcrowds the northern suburban schools with the same goal to reduce suburban white educational opportunities.

[Unregistered]

I don't believe it's appropriate for any elementary child to be on a bus at 6:38. We need to return to a common sense school system. We have a parade of busses going all over the county, picking up a child here and there. There are maybe 15/20 busses in my neighborhood alone. why???? The money being used to bus people everywhere COULD be used to benefit the kids.

Just today in the paper, a middle school for 800 kids is being built in the inner city for 18.5 million. The school currently has only 300 enrolled. Go ahead and build the school if itwas promised, but don't build it for 800. That's absurd. Build it for 350/400 allowing for growth. It's stuff like this that leaves us all shaking our heads. If you were CEO of a company and built a factory that was more than double the size needed, you would be handily fired. Please, let's bring common sense and fiscal responsibility to this school district. School Board members, Where are YOu!!! As a taxpayer, I ask you,"Why are you allowing a school with only 300 kids to be rebuilt for 800?"
I would really like an answer.