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LOGAN — A change in class schedules at Logan High School has pushed the entire small city district to later school start times next year.
"Ultimately the goal is to create a school day and school structure that gives kids the best chance for success," said Logan City School District Superintendent Frank Schofield. He said the community, teachers and students stand to benefit from the changes.
In August, Logan High School will not only move from a seven-period-per-day schedule to an A/B schedule with four classes each day, but it will also start 30 minutes later, at 8 a.m. Mount Logan Middle School will start at 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes later than it has been and the district's six elementary schools will also make some changes following a Tuesday vote by the Logan City School District Board of Education.
Adams, Hillcrest and Wilson elementary schools will start at 8:15, five minutes later than the schools now start, and Woodruff, Bridger and Ellis elementary schools will begin 20 minutes later, at 8:30 a.m.
"For the younger kids, later start time is nice primarily for safety reasons," Schofield said. "For high school students, it is nicer because of their biological sleep patterns."
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. to enable students to get adequate sleep.
Research indicates that later start times are more in tune with teenagers' natural sleep-wake cycles, which reset in early adolescence. Teens aren't typically tired until later in the day and tend to sleep later in the mornings to get the rest they need, which is between 8.5 and 9.5 hours each night, the CDC reports.
The agency states that when teens don't get enough sleep, it can increase disciplinary issues and decrease academic achievement for some, among other health issues.
In addition to decreased school performance, research has shown that sleep deprivation in teens can lead to an overall lack of attention, increased risk of car accidents, disciplinary problems, poor judgment, suicidal thinking and other negative consequences.
Later start times in high schools, the CDC reports, can help improve academic performance, attendance and lead to better grades.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has also stated that sufficient sleep can help increase overall health for teenagers.
A resolution to address what lawmakers deemed a "public health concern" failed to pass the Utah Legislature this year. HCR9 aimed to encourage high schools and charter schools to consider the pros and cons of later school day start times, stating that just 10 percent of teens ages 15 to 17 get the sleep they need.
"Teenagers aren't just lazy," said resolution sponsor Rep. Carol Spackman Moss, D-Holladay. "They're in a unique time in their development that they need a substantial amount of sleep."
She said the discussion garnered a lot of support from parents throughout the state.
Schofield said that while news of the change in Logan is still new, parents and teachers, as well as teenagers are excited about it.
"Not too many teenagers will complain about getting to sleep in a little," he said.
With the start time changing, the district's schools will also be able to restore teacher preparation time for 30 minutes before and after school — something that was missing when the school day contained seven classes, Schofield said.
School start times aren't set by state or national standards, but at the district or individual school level, according to the Utah State Office of Education. As long as each of Utah's 41 districts and 117 charter schools get 990 hours of instruction over 180 days, "it doesn't matter how or when they do it," said board spokesman Mark Peterson.
He said districts don't have to get the blessing of the state board or report how they're doing things.
Park City School District has been considering pushing back the start time at its high school, though it plans to study the costs and various logistical impacts before implementing anything.
Traffic patterns, bell times at other schools in the district and extracurricular activity schedules play a part in the Park City decision, officials have said.
Schofield said the board didn't want students to end up missing school at the end of the day in order to play on sports teams or make it to a job or other commitment.
"The later school goes, the more of a scheduling conflict you have," he said, rationalizing the reason the Logan board didn't opt for an even later start time.
"The only way to make significantly later start times work is to have an entire region make the change. Moving the schedule as late as research would suggest you should — 9 a.m. — would be difficult without statewide consideration," Schofield said.
The Logan board's decision came after months of discussion, including time for public comment, and a lot of coordination with Logan's partnering Cache County School District to figure out transportation schedules.
The two districts share buses and busing responsibilities, and Logan had to appeal to the larger district to make it work, Schofield said.
The Salt Lake City School District was already exploring later start times for its schools but has yet to make the switch. Some charter schools throughout the state already employ delayed start times.
