To the editor:
On Tuesday, April 9, the Board of Education will have a preliminary discussion of a healthy school start time. The reality is that the 7:40 a.m. DHS start time trails the national average of 8:04 a.m., as well as our peers in Greenwich, New Canaan, Westport, and Wilton, among others. These towns saw the science and took action to prioritize the health and well-being of their teens, some as many as 20 years ago.
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The 2023 Thriving Youth Darien survey highlights a significant need: 1 in 4 Darien high schoolers and 1 in 5 middle schoolers reported persistent sadness, hopelessness, and anxiety. A healthy school start time is a policy change that can help impact these sobering statistics – and offer other compelling benefits to our youth.
In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends a start time of 8:30 a.m. or later, states that the benefits of a healthy school start include: lower rates of depression, including suicidal ideation; improved safety (from fewer car accidents and less alcohol/drug use); improved academic performance; reduced risk of obesity; and improved quality of life.
We can look to two recent examples of the impact of this policy change in communities like ours. Data released in 2023 from New Canaan show improved well-being, improved amount and/or quality of sleep and improved academic performance one year after a healthy school start time. Similarly, in Chatham, NJ, kids got more sleep, grades improved, kids felt less stressed, and the number of kids who considered suicide decreased one year after implementing a healthy school start time.
The science and the data are clear, and there is growing community support: to-date, more than 380 Darien parents have expressed support (sign here), based on grassroots outreach by a few parents, and there are more than 240 followers of the DHS Healthy Start Time Facebook group.
As the BoE meets for a preliminary discussion, we are hopeful for quick action. The BoE has demonstrated this before, in support of the health and safety of our children. And, it is hard to make a case NOT to implement a healthy school start time. Of course, there are logistics with bus schedules and after-school activities. But other districts have navigated these – and the data show their teens are reaping the benefits: more sleep, less stress, better well-being, better grades and less suicidal ideation; what reason might rise above these facts as warranting more importance or merit? The time to act is now – our teens deserve our support of their health and well-being.
Tegwyn Collins