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DARIEN — Teenagers in town may soon enjoy a bit more sleep as the Board of Education began preliminary steps this week to implement a later start time at Darien High School.
More school districts nationwide are considering later start times to enhance students’ physical health, emotional well-being and academic success.
Citing the importance of adequate sleep for teens, California and Florida passed laws requiring that high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. In Connecticut, the towns of Wilton, Westport, Greenwich, New Canaan and Newtown have all moved to later high school start times in recent years.
But Darien High School’s start time of 7:40 a.m. trails the 8:04 a.m. national average.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that high school start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. so that teenagers can get the sleep they need due to the biological shift in their circadian rhythm during puberty. According to the AAP, the benefits of adequate sleep for teenagers include lower rates of depression, suicidal ideation, car accidents and alcohol and drug use, an improved academic performance and a reduced risk of obesity.
High schools in the United States start far too early, Harvard professor and sleep specialist Dr. Rebecca Robbins said. Speaking to school board members at Wednesday’s meeting, Robbins said that adolescents experience a delay in their secretion of melatonin during puberty, making a typical teenager sleepiest at 10 p.m. or later. The preference for later bedtimes is at odds with early school start times and is putting the squeeze on their sleep, she added.
“We’re limiting kids,” she said. “Kids that are getting enough sleep, consistent sleep, have a significantly better chance to get better grades.”
Last year, New Canaan students reported improved wellbeing, an improved amount and quality of sleep and improved academic performance just one year after implementing later school start times. Darien parent Tegwyn Collins said results were similar in Chatham, New Jersey, after its schedule change.
“Kids got more sleep, grades improved, kids felt less stressed and the number of kids who considered suicide decreased,” she said.
According to Collins, 475 Darien parents have signed a petition supporting a change in the high school schedule.
“Change is hard,” she acknowledged. “But a healthy start time is what’s best for our kids.”
Superintendent Alan Addley said he supports delaying the high school start time as long as it’s done thoughtfully.
“I don’t believe it’s worth it if you don’t do it right. If we’re only going to tinker with start times, particularly for high school students, for 10 to 15 minutes, I honestly don’t think it is worth it. If you’re going to make it 8:30, that’s a different discussion. I do think it would be worth it then,” he said.
Addley said there are still many issues to consider, including cost, transportation logistics, athletics, after-school activities, the impact on parents’ schedules, preschool start times, as well as the potential effect on staff retention.
“Some of our staff members may see this as a good thing or they may go,” he added.
Addley also explained the need to hire transportation consultants to reconfigure bus schedules, noting that the town may require more buses to implement the change.
Addley believes the best approach would be to switch the start times of the elementary and high schools. Board member Kadi Lublin agreed, noting the idea aligns with high school students’ tendency to sleep later and younger students’ habit of waking earlier.
Should the board decide to move forward with the discussion, Addley recommended creating a task force composed of students, teachers, administrators and one board member to oversee the research and make recommendations to the board next spring.
He anticipates a two-year timeline for the process and that any change in start times, if approved, would not occur until fall 2026 at the earliest.
“There’s not going to be an agreement on this,” he said. “You’re either going to have people who are very happy with what you do or with what you’re not doing.”
Board members also asked the administration to gather information about logistics and financial impacts from neighboring districts who implemented later start times to discuss at their next meeting in May.
“At some point, you have to take that first step and begin,” board member Dennis Maroney said. “But this is a huge undertaking.”
Darien junior Oscar Barton said he supports a later high school start time, but foresees logistical problems with after-school sports programs trying to accommodate different schedules.
Barton said he aims for eight hours of sleep per night, but that becomes more challenging on the days he’s required to rise even earlier for before-school meetings. Though he agreed that delaying the high school start time would help students get extra shuteye, he said additional sleep doesn’t guarantee teens will feel fully rested.
“I definitely think on some level there is tiredness, but I also think that’s kind of just high school and the expectations that come with it,” he said.