Forum addresses student sleep concerns

SOUTH COVENTRY >> Concerns over early start times and sleep deprivation in teens has been keeping some parents up at night in the Owen J. Roberts School District.

In an effort to address those concerns, the district recently held a sleep health forum. The forum, which took place in the high school LGI room, was attended by 15 parents, community members, school board representatives and administrators.

Led by Director of Pupil Services Richard Marchini, attendees worked together to identify a list of sleep health concerns, and then began brainstorming ideas for tackling those issues.

At the end of the 90-minute forum, the group had done more than articulate their worries, they came up with potential action steps for moving forward.

A second forum is planned for Monday, Nov. 13, from 7-8:30 p.m. in the high school LGI room. The community is once again invited to participate, to add detail to the action steps and begin formulating plans.

The list of concerns introduced at the initial forum included fears that sleep deprivation could impact academic engagement, lead to mental health issues, such as anxiety and stress, or even result in nutritional deficits for students who don’t have time for breakfast.

Among those in attendance was parent Kathy DiMarino, who has been a staunch advocate for moving to later start times in the district.

“Kid’s circadian rhythms are not the same (as adults),” DiMarino said. “The hours they are expected to wake up are not in sync with what they’re bodies can do.”

School board member Karel Minor was also in attendance. He noted that his daughter suffers from migraines that were aggravated by lack of sleep.

Another attendee was Jeff Hellrung, board president of the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District, which changed to later start times last year. Hellrung said the district began looking into starting school later at the request of students.

Among the benefits noted in the first year were a decrease in concussions and improved athletic performances, Hellrung said.

He noted that it is too soon to know whether those benefits are actually related to earlier start times. But he also stated that kids come to school more alert than in the past, and that the district has been pleased overall with the outcome.

“I don’t think anyone’s resisting or looking to turn back,” he said.

But Hellrung stressed that the decision to change school start times was one that took several years and involved input from all stakeholders.

By the end of the meeting, the group had devised a list of action steps for continuing to investigate sleep health. Those included having a sleep expert provide a presentation on adolescent sleep

health, and organizing focus groups to gauge attitudes and involve various

stakeholders.

The group also suggested developing a timeline for moving toward a solution, as well as gathering data and coming up with recommendations for the board.

Marchini made it clear

that the district wanted to evaluate the issue from multiple angles, not just focusing on changing to later start times.

“It’s complex,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a silver bullet. I don’t think you can change the start time and call it a day.”

However, the issue of school start times has been contentious in the district. Several parents — including DiMarino — attend board meetings regularly, pleading with the board to consider changing start times at the high school and middle school from 7:30 a.m. to no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

That suggestion is based on an American Academy of Pediatrics 2014 recommendation that calls for secondary schools to open no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to avoid sleep deprivation in adolescents.

This is not a new issue for the district. Two years ago, the board had looked into the matter and conducted a survey to determine whether the community favored moving to later start times. That survey found that only slightly more than 50 percent of students and parents were in favor, and only 20 percent

of district staff.

What’s more, changing start times is not a cheap fix. Currently, high school and middle schools begin an hour earlier than the elementary schools, which start classes at 8:30 a.m. This schedule allows buses to transport secondary students first and, afterwards, pick up students for the elementary schools.

If the district were to start all schools at 8:30 a.m., rather than staggering the start times, the additional transportation cost would total an estimated $4 million a year, Superintendent Susan Lloyd said.

Since the issue of sleep deprivation is specific to adolescent sleep cycles, the board also looked into switching high school and middle schools to the 8:30 a.m. start time, and elementary students to 7:30 a.m. The yearly cost of that would total $1 million.

At the end of the meeting, Marchini said he was pleased with the ideas presented during the forum.

“I think we have some real solid steps to investigate and move forward with,” he said.