The school start time change at the beginning of the 23-24 school year proved controversial for students, staff and administration. What has now been revealed as a one year experiment has now concluded, and new start times are to come into effect starting in the 24-25 school year. First period officially starting at 6:20am, nearly an hour and a half earlier than this year, and a full hour earlier than previous years; this change is sure to cause a stir within the student body, as these drastic changes were only announced late into the year.
Although many students might find issue with the new start times, one group of students are able to find a silver lining within the earlier times, athletes. With school now ending at an early 1:10pm, students now have a great deal of time after school to complete work and participate in activities. With sports especially, athletes are now able to have time for sports and then more time for themselves afterwards.
“Although I have to wake up really early now, at the very least I get to get home early. The sun never sets while playing, and I have time to do what I want after I get home,” commented lacrosse player Bryce Pistorio.
Many students find it hard to find a reason that the school system would make such a drastic change. They believe that only harm comes from the change, leading to more sleep deprived students resulting in less efficient work being done, and a hit to students’ physical and mental health. A common theory as to why this change is being made is the same reason as to why the schedule was adjusted at the beginning of the 23-24 school year. Bus issues.
“I can kind of understand why they are making this change, with an earlier start time, there should be little to no bus issues. At the same time, the earlier start times are going to hurt my sleep a lot, I’m going to have to wake up at 5am now which is far too early,” voiced junior Ragib Ahanaf
School start times affect not only the students of MRHS but the staff too. Teachers are now required to teach classes to students far earlier in the morning compared to normal. The problem is especially apparent in first period classes. Instead of having first period go from 7:50-8:45am, first period is now going to go from 6:20-7:15am, a time students are not used to having to learn.
“Teaching students first period is already difficult as is. Especially on Mondays, it is easy to see how tired students are, making it more difficult for them to learn. I can’t imagine how hard it will be for students to learn at six in the morning,” expressed English teacher Mr. Sullivan
The earlier school start times are sure to be a difficult change for students and staff alike to get used to. With two years of drastic time changes, who knows what other alterations will be made in the years to come. For now, students must cherish the time they have of the late start, and make sure to prepare to set their alarms earlier than ever in August.