In almost every state and school in the United Sates classes start before or at 8:30AM. It has been proven by many studies that teenagers ages 13 to 18 need  8 to 10 hours of sleep per day. As someone who plays sports and participates in many activities on top of school, it is hard to get in those 8 to 10 hours of sleep when school starts so early.

I believe that schools should take this into account as they set their schedules, and start the day a little bit later to help give teens a few more hours of sleep.

Adolescents who do not get those 8-10 hours are more likely to be overweight, do less physical activities, suffer  from depression, engage in unhealthy risks such as drinking or smoking, and perform poorly in school. As a community, we need to help the students out and give them a better chance of adequate sleep so that they can live up to their full potential.  About 90% of children who suffer from depression are sleep deprived according to the CDC.

Studies have shown that students who start at a later time have earned better grades, higher test scores, and have improved focus in classrooms acc. Teachers should want to start later so that their class can focus and stay on track instead of kids dosing off or day dreaming. They will be able to teach the students what they need to know more efficiently.

We live in Colorado where it is very snowy,, especially in the winter time.  Students that are inexperienced drivers, wake up and sometimes have to drive an hour or an hour and a half to get to school. Whatever the drive time might be,, they still have to drive when they are unfocused and  tired. This is dangerous especially when the conditions are not good. Even though RJ does a good job of keeping its students safe, they should consider changing the start of day time to help the students stay safe. Later in the day the snow melts, and the roads will be less dangerous. If the roads are unmanageable then we can have a school day online. All of the students have grown used to school online so that would not be a problem.

People argue that starting the school day later will lead to pushing extracurriculars and homework later.  This can cause students to be even more tired. They worry that extracurriculars will be canceled, and homework will be ignored because there isis not enough time or the students will have to stay up later to finish their work. I believe you might work later, but not much later than we already do. I also believe that if you have had more sleep, you are more rested, and will be able to take on the work.

Students should get the chance to have a later start time to get more sleep, and thereby improve grades and mental health.

Please help me to urge the RJ administration to consider a later start time for next year.