ACTION ITEM:  Please stay engaged! Let the school board know you want them to keep working on middle school start times to benefit the health, well-being, and performance of students.

On October 23, 2014, with strong consensus from the community, the School Board voted to implement a new schedule, which is a significant improvement over the previous high school bell times of 7:20 a.m. The School Board indicated a desire to continue working to improve middle school start times.


TALKING POINTS TO SHARE to ensure that friends and neighbors understand the benefits:
Results for students with later school start times:
  • Fewer teen car crashes
  • Less depression and a decreased need for medications to treat depression
  • Decreased drop-out rates and improved attendance 
  • Fewer behavior problems or disciplinary referrals (interruptions to instruction)
  • High school students gain sleep - gains are commensurate with the shift in start times
  • Students are less likely to fall asleep in class or while doing homework and the school day better coincides with a time of day when students are awake and alert and prepared to learn
  • More sleep means better sports performance and fewer sports injuries
  • The return on investment is worthwhile: Brookings Institutution economists report that improved performance resulting from later start times is equivalent to two extra months in school and estimated that the benefits to cost ratio is 9:1.
Thank you so much for your support for later start times!

SLEEP in Fairfax
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