FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

What is SLEEP and what is its goal?
How can I look at and sign the petition?
Why is a later start time important to our students?
What are the current secondary school start and end times?
Why is such an early start time bad for adolescents?
Is this true of all teenagers?
Is this different circadian rhythm why my teenager sleeps until noon on the weekends?
How much sleep does the typical teenager need?
How much do they typically get?
What are some of the problems associated with this lack of sleep?
Shouldn’t they just go to bed earlier? Wouldn’t they then be able to get up early and be alert?
If they weren’t due at school until later, wouldn’t teenagers just go to bed even later than they do now and get no more sleep than before?
I don’t know that I believe all this research. Where are you getting this?
If this is such a good idea, why doesn’t Fairfax County have a later schedule already?
Didn't FCPS have a Task Force recommend later start times?
What are the major barriers to change?
Who actually sets the start times for schools in Fairfax County?
Couldn’t we just buy more buses, so everyone could start between 8 and 9 am?
What is SLEEP proposing to do about the transportation issue?
What did the 1998 Task Force look at as transportation alternatives?
Wouldn’t 8:30 am be a good start time for high school?
What are some other suggestions put forth so far?
What about extracurricular activities? How would they fit into a later schedule?
How would athletics be effected by changing start times?
You sound like you think academics should come first.
Some kids have to work at after-school jobs. How would that fit in with a later school day?
What about high school students who now babysit for younger siblings after school?
What do teachers think about this?
Have other surveys been done or will they be done to gauge opinion?
Didn’t Madison HS try to get a later start time? What happened to that?
Have other schools districts gone to later start times?
What has been the experience by districts going to a later time?
Is anything happening legislatively?
Who supports later start times for secondary schools?
What is SLEEP doing?
Other than signing the petition, how else can I help?

 

What is SLEEP and what is its goal?

SLEEP (Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal) is a grassroots effort to establish later start times for middle and high schools in Fairfax County.  Started by two Fairfax County parents in January 2004, the organization is working with Fairfax County School Board members, secondary school principals, PTAs, parents, students, teachers and coaches to find ways to get more reasonable start times for our adolescent students.

 

How can I look at and sign the petition?

The full text of the petition and instructions on how to sign are available on this Web site from the Home page or click here.

 

Why is a later start time important to our students?

Later start times would coincide with students’ body clocks so that teens are in school during their most alert hours and can achieve their full academic potential. Later start times will have a positive effect on students’ academic achievement and physical and mental health. It would also result in teenagers having less unsupervised time in the afternoons, when adolescents may be tempted to engage in risky behaviors.

 

What are the current secondary school start and end times?

Most high schools in Fairfax County start at 7:20 am, with buses arriving at school about 7 am so they can start their middle school runs.  Middle schools generally start between 7:25 and 7:50 am. These bell schedules require that secondary school students wake up between 5:30 and 6:45 a.m. to get to school on time, preventing our students from getting a healthy night’s sleep.  Adolescents have to get up when their bodies are telling them to sleep and often must catch a bus when it is still dark outside.  A 1998 FCPS Task Force on later start times learned that the first bus pickup of the day in Fairfax County was at 5:48 am!

High schools that start at 7:20, end at 2:10 pm.  A number of students then find themselves with hours of unsupervised time until their parents come home from work.

 A typical middle school that starts at 7:45 am, releases at 2:35 pm.  Since 7^th and 8^th-graders are no longer eligible for the School-Aged Child Care (SACC) program, many of those 12-to-14-year-olds must walk home from bus stops to empty houses where they may be alone for hours.

 

Why is such an early start time bad for adolescents?

Our teenagers are going to school sleep-deprived, and this is detrimental to their physical, mental and emotional health.

 A large and growing amount of sleep research shows that adolescents have a different—and later—sleep cycle than younger children and adults.  This is not a matter of habit or lifestyle or stubbornness. It’s a matter of biology and natural circadian rhythms. The hormones that regulate sleep make it difficult for a typical teenager to fall asleep until after 11 pm and to wake up and be alert before around 8 am.  Making them get up at 6-something in the morning robs them of the deep sleep they need to grow and learn.

 

Is this true of all teenagers?

No.  Some people are natural “early birds” all their lives.  But this is true for most teenagers.  And even some early birds find themselves sleeping later in adolescence.

 

Is this different circadian rhythm why my teenager sleeps until noon on the weekends?

Yes.  Also, many teenagers try to make up for their lack of solid sleep during the school week by sleeping as late as they can on the weekend.  This system doesn’t really work, however.  It leads to irregular sleep habits and may exacerbate the problem in the long run.

 

How much sleep does the typical teenager need?

On average, 9 ¼ hours a night.

 

How much do they typically get?

On average, 7 ½ hours a night.

 

What are some of the problems associated with this lack of sleep?

Lack of sleep has serious repercussions on teenagers’ physical, mental and emotional health.  Sleep deprivation among teens is linked to depression, susceptibility to illness and injury, irritability, car and other accidents, stunted growth and even obesity.  It also lowers impulse control and reaction times (important for those driving).  It negatively affects their ability to think and learn.

 

Shouldn’t they just go to bed earlier?  Wouldn’t they then be able to get up early and be alert?

No.  The circadian rhythms that regulate teenagers’ sleep give them a second burst of wakefulness in the evening.  If forced to go to bed earlier than their bodies are telling them to, they may simply stare at the ceiling until their bodies’ melatonin kicks in around 11 pm, enabling them finally to sleep.  The melatonin remains in their system, keeping them sleepy until around 8 am.

 

If they weren’t due at school until later, wouldn’t teenagers just go to bed even later than they do now and get no more sleep than before?

No. Again, research has shown that this is not the case.  The Minneapolis school system, concerned about the adverse effect of early start times on its teen students, went from a 7:15 am to an 8:40 am start time for high school students in 1997.  A study commissioned by the Minneapolis School Board found that their students went to bed at virtually the same time as before the change and, compared with students at high schools with earlier start times, on average got one hour more sleep per school night.

 

I don’t know that I believe all this research.  Where are you getting this?

One good source of information and research is the National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org), which has compiled a wealth of information on the subject.  Some of it we've linked to on this Web site (See Research on the Home page). The foremost researchers in the area of sleep agree that teenagers do exhibit later circadian rhythms.  Many of them have pointed to early school hours as a major culprit in American teenagers’ sleep deprivation.

The National Sleep Foundation is promoting later secondary school times nationwide, including in Fairfax County.

 

If this is such a good idea, why doesn’t Fairfax County have a later schedule already?

At one time, the Fairfax County Public School System had a two-bell schedule, with later secondary school start times. Going to a three-bell system was designed to save money and optimize the use of school buses, with each doing three runs morning and afternoon.  This meant the school opening times had to be staggered. The high schools were generally set to start first, then the middle schools, then the elementary schools, so that elementary school students wouldn’t have to wait for buses (or walk to school) in the dark.  Once this was established, it was difficult to change because so many interconnected schedules revolved around the new start times.

It takes approximately 1,500 buses more than three hours to pick up and deliver more than 101,000 students in Fairfax County every morning. 

 

Didn't FCPS have a Task Force recommend later start times?

Yes.  Concerned about the impact of early start times on secondary school students, the School Board in 1998 created the Task Force to Study High School Opening Times. At the end of its inquiry, the Task Force, composed of 53 members (a cross-section of parents, teachers, school officials and community representatives) endorsed later start times for middle and high schools in the county. The Task Force also identified several issues that would have to be addressed to achieve these later times. In the six months of its work, the group was unable to agree on a method that could be used countywide to achieve this goal but recommended continued work on the issue.

To see the Executive Summary of the Task Force report, click here: http://www.fcps.edu/mediapub/sbsumm/bell.htm

To see the complete Task Force Report, click here: http://www.fcps.k12.va.us/schlbd/reports/startingtimes.pdf

 

What are the major barriers to change?

There are several, but the two major ones seem to be the bus schedules and extracurricular activities for high school students. Other issues are work schedules for high school students with jobs, reliance on older students to care for younger siblings after school, parent and teacher schedules that might have to be adjusted, and a general resistance to change.

 

Who actually sets the start times for schools in Fairfax County?

School principals have some say in this, and the Fairfax School Board ultimately approves the start times, but much of the actual schedule is designed by the school system’s Department of Facilities and Transportation Services (http://www.fcps.edu/fts/index.htm). This is because the start times are largely dependent on when the buses can get students to and from school.  To maximize the use of the buses, the Transportation department has each generally do three runs in the morning and three runs in the afternoon.  That means start times must be staggered throughout each school pyramid.

 

How is the current schedule staggered?

Most Fairfax County high schools have a 7:20 am bell, with buses generally dropping students off at school by 7 am.  Most middle schools start between 7:25 and 7:50 am, with bus drop-off times usually about 10 minutes earlier. Elementary schools usually start between 8:05 and 9:15 am, with the elementary start times staggered within each FCPS cluster, again to maximize use of the buses.

High schools usually end at 2:10 pm.  Middle schools generally end between 2:20 and 2:40 pm.

To see the bell schedules, click here: http://www.fcps.edu/fts/tran/bell/index.htm

 

Couldn’t we just buy more buses, so everyone could start between 8 and 9 am?

To do this would cost millions of dollars. A massive expenditure for buses isn’t really feasible in the current economic climate.  Having each bus used many times throughout the day is a more efficient use of our resources and allows more funds to be spent on education itself.  SLEEP is looking for low-cost ways to solve the transportation issue, while still maximizing the use of the buses, until such time as the county might find funding for more buses.

 

What is SLEEP proposing to do about the transportation issue?

We are exploring different ideas and options and hoping to work with the school’s Facilities and Transportation Department to arrive at creative solutions.  One idea would be to keep the current elementary school schedule the same and have the secondary schools start as soon as possible thereafter. We are asking Transportation for information on what the times would be if this were done with the same number of buses we use now. 

Another possibility would be to have elementary schools open somewhat earlier so high schools and middle schools wouldn’t open too late, but elementary school students shouldn’t have to catch buses so early that they are waiting in the dark.

 

What did the 1998 Task Force look at as transportation alternatives?

The Task Force looked at three alternative schedules: 1) pushing the entire schedule forward by 20 minutes; 2) pushing it forward by 40 minutes; and 3) having all elementary schools start at 8 am and all secondary schools at 9 am. The first two were thought to push the elementary school schedule too late.  The last would have cost an estimated $38 million for more buses and personnel to get to all the schools in that tight timeframe. 

 

Wouldn’t 8:30 am be a good start time for high school?

Yes, but…One thing that is clear is that, because of the bus situation, not everyone can have an 8:30 am start time.  To optimize bus use, we now have about a two-hour window for the start times of elementary, middle and high schools (now 7:20-9:15 am).  If the earliest bell were 8 am, the latest bell would probably be somewhere around 9:55 am.

Starting high schools that late no doubt would raise concerns about extracurriculars and work.  One suggestion is to consider having elementary schools first, then high schools and lastly middle schools, since the extracurricular and work issues are not the same there. 

 

What are some other suggestions put forth so far?

The Task Force Report also had suggestions on how other modes of transportation might be considered in the future. These included using public transportation where possible for high school students, linking up with Fairfax County’s FASTTRAN service for students with special needs, and combining some bus runs of middle and high schools (this is already done in some areas).  SLEEP would like to see those ideas explored.

Since some high school students drive or carpool to school, recognizing this fact and adjusting bus schedules accordingly might also give more leeway on some school bus routes.

 

What about extracurricular activities?  How would they fit into a later schedule?

This is another area that would require rescheduling, but SLEEP feels that this could be accomplished in a variety of ways for different activities.  If secondary schools went to a later schedule, some activities now held after school could be scheduled before school.  SLEEP feels that some students having to occasionally get to school early for voluntary activities would be preferable to all students being required to get to school at an excessively early hour every day.

 

How would athletics be effected by changing start times?

Athletic activities appear to be one of the main challenges in a revised high school schedule.  This generally is not an issue in middle school, but high school sports now are often scheduled every day after school for three to four hours a day. While some sports with shorter practice times might be able to complete practice after school, those  requiring four hours of practice a day might need to practice before and after school.

Currently, some schools delay afternoon sports’ practices until after a period in which students are expected to consult with teachers or do homework.  With a later school schedule, sports might need to start directly after school is over to take advantage of daylight and field schedules. Perhaps these students could meet with teachers before school on an as-needed basis.

Individual schools would need to work with their coaches to find a schedule that worked for them with new hours.

 

You sound like you think academics should come first.

Yes. As important as sports and extracurriculars are, the first job of the school system is to educate our children.  This has to come first.  SLEEP believes that the school system should fashion a schedule that is best for the health and educational needs of our students and work other considerations around that.

 

Some kids have to work at after-school jobs.  How would that fit in with a later school day?

Teenagers who have after-school jobs are probably the most in need of more sleep.  Early morning school hours make it very difficult for some of these high school students with long work hours to stay in school.  In a study conducted for Minneapolis-area school systems, high schools going to later start times showed improvements in their rates of continuous enrollment and in attendance rates. http://education.umn.edu/carei/Reports/default.html.

The study, conducted by the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota, quoted local employers as saying that later school hours did not affect their businesses or the amount of hours that students were available for work.

Similarly, the 1998 Fairfax Task Force found that employers generally rely on students for evening and weekend hours.  A poll of 15 Fairfax employers found them unanimous in saying that later hours would not impact student work hours.

For those students who must work long hours to help support their families, the school system should use a variety of ways to accommodate them through flexible scheduling and school-to-work programs.

 

What about high school students who now babysit for younger siblings after school?

Those high school students would be available to stay with younger siblings in the morning and get them off to school. Fairfax County has after-school care for elementary school students, with sliding fee scales, through the SACC program (although unfortunately not enough for everyone who wants it).  While some families might have to adjust schedules to new hours, this is not enough of a rationale for keeping a schedule that is detrimental to a majority of students.

 

What do teachers think about this?

One thing SLEEP wants to do is survey all interested parties, including teachers.  One survey taken at Langston Hughes Middle School in Reston, cited by the 1998 Task Force, found that nearly two-thirds of the teachers at that school then favored later start times. Some high school teachers say they are concerned that students are not alert, and even sleep, in the first classes of the day.  On the other hand, some teachers prefer an early schedule.  Some with young children want to be home in the afternoon when their children get home from elementary school, and others have said that a later schedule would make them travel to and from school during rush hour.

SLEEP wants to work with teachers to see how a later schedule could best work out for teachers, as well.  Those who prefer an early day could have their planning time before rather than after school, for example.

When Arlington County switched to a later schedule, there was concern that some teachers might transfer to schools with earlier start times to keep to an early schedule. But teacher retention proved not to be a problem. 

 

Have other surveys been done or will they be done to gauge opinion?

SLEEP plans to start surveying parents, teachers, students, school administrators and other stakeholders in the process. This probably will be done on a school-by-school basis, depending on the initial interest we have in each pyramid.  SLEEP pyramid coordinators will help organize this effort.

The 1998 Fairfax County Task Force referenced several surveys that were taken at various Fairfax County schools showing support for later start times by a majority of parents, students and teachers.  About three-fourths of students at three county high schools supported later times.

In Minneapolis, a survey of parents a year after the change to a later start time found that 92 percent were happy with the change.

 

Didn’t Madison HS try to get a later start time?  What happened to that?

Yes, as a result of a strong lobbying effort at Madison High School by students and parents, with the support of the local school board member and the school principal, attempts have been made to get a later start time at that school.  So far, a viable solution for that pyramid has not been found, but the school community is still trying to make it happen.  For a look at more information about the proposal for a Madison pilot project, including community comments, click here. http://www.fcps.edu/news/madison.htm

 

What has been the experience by districts going to a later time?

Some parents had expressed skepticism about the change, wondering if all the students activities could be worked around the later schedule.  But a year after the change, 92 percent of parents said they were happy with the new schedule.

There is also evidence that later start times can reduce the number of teen car accidents.  Fayette County, Ky., found that after changing its start time to an hour later crashes among 16-to-18-year-old drivers decreased in the county, while they increased throughout the rest of the state.

We hope to hear more from the Arlington County School Board with respect to its recent schedule change.

 

Is anything happening legislatively?

Legislation has been introduced in Congress and in various states, including Virginia, to encourage later start times for secondary students.  But it’s unlikely that legislation affecting Fairfax County schools will pass any time soon. SLEEP would welcome state or national grants to fund pilot programs to help our school system find ways to create later start times.

Connecticut passed legislation to prohibit testing from occurring before 9 am, but the law is coming under fire since it ties the hands of school administrators and complicates scheduling without changing the start times themselves.

 

Who supports later start times for secondary schools?

 

What is SLEEP doing?

• Collecting names on a petition urging FCPS to enact later start times for Fairfax County middle and high schools


• Compiling research on adolescent sleep needs and cycles, to help educate Fairfax County stakeholders


• Working with our School Board members to look for ways to make later start times happen


• Adding names daily to our email distribution list for interested parties to get information, news and updates


• Developing this Web site (www.SLEEPinFairfax.org) to help get the word out about our effort and to help coordinate our activities and to make research and news on later start times easily accessible


• Finding SLEEP coordinators for each high school pyramid


• Developing surveys to get opinions from parents, teachers, students, administrators about start times in Fairfax County


• Talking with principals, coaches, employers, students, parents, bus drivers and others about impediments to later start times and how to overcome them


• Looking for ways to help the FCPS Department of Facilities and Transportation Services come up with workable ways of developing a schedule for later secondary school start times without major added costs


• Contacting later start time advocates in other jurisdictions to get their ideas and learn from their experiences


• Testifying at hearings that relate to this effort, including speaking to the search committee for a new Superintendent


• Working with student groups, such as the FCPS Student Advisory Council and individual student government associations, on ways to promote later start time through student involvement 


• Developed a PowerPoint presentation for interested advocates to use to speak to various interested groups (See the How To Help Section of the website).


• Speaking to Fairfax County PTAs and PTSAs to urge concerted action to promote later start times

 

Other than signing the petition, how else can I help?