As students finish off their first month with earlier start times implemented this year, many problems arise. From high school students not having time to work after school to families struggling with finding childcare for younger children, the new start times have been a difficult change for the community. Additionally, the elementary schools in the area are on different schedules than the high school which creates even more difficulties for families. Switching back to an earlier start time as well as getting all schools in the district on the same schedule would be extremely beneficial for students, families and teachers alike.
Due to later start times, students at the high school are not ending until past 3 p.m. This creates an issue for students to be able to fit everything in after school: especially work.
“We get less time to work, and I feel like that affects me because I need to save more money for my car payment. I can’t do that because I work less than normal,” junior Emersyn Little said.
Many students have had their working hours shortened because of the time change. With one less hour available for work in the afternoons, many students cannot find a job that will hire them. This affects many students, especially those with financial responsibilities.
Families of elementary students have had a large problem with the new start times. The main issue is picking up their child when school ends. Parents are not able to get off work early enough to pick up their children. As for older siblings, they cannot pick up their younger siblings either. Times are offset throughout the district with the elementary schools running from 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. and the high school running from 8:35 a.m. to 3:05 p.m.
French Teacher Amy Budion said that her oldest has hour 6 off, so he is able to pick up her younger daughter. “My son, who’s a senior, actually has to pick her up because my husband travels and I’m still at the high school until 3:30 p.m. If he was not able to do this, I truly don’t know what we’d do. Adventure Club has waiting lists.”
This creates issues with parents finding childcare. Most after-school programs are full, which leaves parents required to leave work early to take their child to an outside program. Teachers at the high school who have elementary-aged-children would need to take a pay cut in order to leave early enough to collect their child from school. For the parents who do get their child into Adventure Club, those students are at school for an extended amount of time. This can take a toll on their mental health.
Students who participate in afterschool sports are now going to be leaving school earlier more frequently, as well as getting home much later after practice. This gives students a lot less time in the evenings, which could lead to students getting behind on schoolwork.
“With older age kids, it’s harder because they’re done with school later, so they can’t start their activities earlier, like we used to, and then be done earlier,” Budion said.
This makes it so many students who are in sports and activities have little to no time for themselves. They lose their free time, with most of the time that they are at home being spent working on homework, eating dinner and other responsibilities. Feeling as if there is never enough time to fit everything in can put a lot of stress on a student. While some believe that the time change allows students to get more sleep and in turn improving mental health and sleep schedules, many students are actually staying up later in order to get everything done.
On the other hand, some people have found that the change has been beneficial for them. Some students are getting more sleep and are more awake and ready to learn when they get to school with the new start times.
“There’s research that supports the idea that somehow this circadian rhythm of all of our body, is somehow in tune with a clock that better aligns to the schedule that we’re on,” Principal Robert Bach explained.
Studies over the years have shown that starting later is better for students’ sleep schedules and mental health. Students and staff who wake up early now have much more time to get things done before school starts. It is significantly easier for students and staff to wake up naturally in the morning with the current schedule as opposed to the earlier times of last year.
Even with the benefits of starting later, the negatives outweigh the positives. Many students and staff prefer the earlier times from last year rather than the current start times, feeling as if they had more time last year.
When asked, Little said that she would pick the start time and end time from last year because it was more convenient.
While having a longer morning is nice for some students, many students feel as if they have less time overall. Students feel as if their days are crammed, trying to squeeze everything in without that extra hour in the afternoon. The schedule last year worked much better for a majority of students.
Opinions of people in the Stillwater district vary incredibly. While it works well for some, most people have had to work hard to fit everything in with these new times. As the year goes on, people’s opinions may change as everyone gets adjusted to the new schedule. Students will continue to struggle with time management for sports, after school activities, family time, homework and even jobs. Not being able to work as much or at all can be detrimental to some students, especially those that rely on the money they make. Families at the elementary school will continue to struggle to get their children into childcare programs if they cannot pick their children up when school ends. If accommodations are not continued to be made, this change could negatively impact families and students in the district.
