Some big changes are being made to next year’s schedule. The school year will start on Aug. 18, 2025 and will start an hour later at 8:40 a.m. The new start times are facing a lot of opposition from parents. Later starts have numerous benefits for teens including improved grades, test scores and increased alertness driving to school. Opposition to this change is inevitable and there are negatives, but the pros far outweigh the cons.

There is a lot of online pushback over start times. The change swaps elementary and high school start times.

“New start times are final, that’s been finalized,” Principal Robert Bach said.

The changing of start times has a huge impact on students and families, in particular elementary families whose kids will be going to school much earlier.

Students and parents will be most affected by this change. They will need to adapt to make the new schedule work.

“It’ll be a positive change. I think any kind of change can be difficult sometimes, at first… I think once they settle into a new routine, I think they’re going to find that its a positive thing,” Bach said.

The change will definitely be an adjustment, but in the long run it will be a good thing. The increased sleep will be an improvement over early start times and allow students to be more awake thought the school day. A three year study done by the University of Minnesota on eight different  schools across the country “found that there was a 70 percent drop in the number of car crashes involving teen drivers at Jackson Hole High School in Wyoming which shifted the to the latest start time of the eight schools (8:55a.m).”

“I think it might allow me to get more sleep but if it didn’t, It would at least set me up to be more awake in the school day,” junior Kyle McBride said.

Later start times will help teens get more sleep. A bit more sleep will help keep students alert and ready to learn.

“If school is back an hour  hopefully then I will also get to sleep another hour,” McBride said.

University of Minnesota research further concluded that “even a start time of 8:35 a.m allows 57-60 percent of students to get eight of more hours of sleep.” This will be a huge benefit for most students.

Along with start time change the calendar is shifting early as well. This make it one of the earliest start dates in the state.

“I do like it because I’m able to start when I’m starting high school training,” junior Isabella Koch said.

For athletes, high school training starts on August 18, 2025 so it’s a welcome change when they are already in the area for practice. Another huge advantage for students is the alignment of the end of the semester and winter break. This allows students to enjoy the break with family without having the end of the semester looming

The evidence provided shows that while the start time change is heavily opposed it will be a positive change. The later start will improve teens sleep and make them much more alert and less likely to get into an accident. Grades and test scores will improve, while later sports practices are a big drawback of this change it will help students in the long run.