By NEIL ZOLOT
WAKEFIELD – Should high school classes start at 8:30 a.m. instead of the current 7:30? Student Alexis Manzi thinks so.
Citing information from the American Academy of Pediatrics, start times in nearby communities and results of a student survey she conducted, she told the School Committee a later start time will “align teen bodies with their sleep patterns,” at their meeting Tuesday, June 27.
She also said starting at 7:30 deprives students of sleep, leading to them sleeping in buses and cars on the way to school, having car accidents if they’re driving, sleeping in their first classes, depression, lower grades and engagement in risky behavior.
She added this is especially true for METCO students coming from Boston, many of whom leave their homes before 6.
A later start time will also give parents and students more quality time together, she feels. She also cited information from the American Academy of Pediatrics that graduation rates rise from 77% to 88% with later start times.
A survey she conducted indicated 93% of Wakefield Memorial High School students prefer a later start time, with 53% okay with starting at 8.
In surrounding communities, Melrose and Stoneham start at 8:15, Reading at 8:30.
Manzi did recognize some challenges. “Later start times means later ending times,” she acknowledged, which could affect sports programs and after school jobs.
She also acknowledged her survey sample was quite small, only 15 students and hopes another survey will include more people.
Reaction from School Committee members and the Superintendent were positive. “The research is pretty clear,” Kevin Fontanella said.
“I think the research is compelling,” Superintendent Doug Lyons picked up. “I think we should study this and make a recommendation. If we’re going to do this we should study it.”
He too acknowledged some challenges, including how to stagger busing, increased traffic and how parents will drop off children at different schools. “There are many moving parts,” he said. “We should hear from teachers, coaches and parents and look at other districts. Other districts have handled this. We need to understand the problems and how they solved them.”
One idea could be to flip the elementary school start of 8:30 and the High School time and leave the middle school at 8, but Lyons acknowledged the difficulty of getting young children to school at 7:30.
Manzi may not be in school long enough to take advantage of a later starting time. School Committee member Stephen Ingalls, nevertheless acknowledged her efforts. “Although you may not see this, I don’t want you to think your work isn’t appreciated,” he said.
In other business, the School Committee named its members of subcommittees and liaisons to other committees in town. Among them, the Finance Subcommittee will be chaired by Tom Markham, with Fontanella and Ingalls as the other members; the Labor Relations and Personnel Subcommittee will be chaired by Ingalls with Markham and Kevin Piskadlo as the other members; the Student Services Subcommittee will be chaired by Eileen Colleran with Peter Davis and Amy Leeman as the other members and the Policy and Communications Subcommittee will be chaired by Fontanella with Colleran and Davis as the other members.
The liaison to the Human Rights Commission will be Davis, the Youth Council liaison will be Ingalls and the Special Education Parents Advisory Council (SEPAC) liaison will be Colleran.