Next year’s bell schedule brings about several major changes including an 8:05 start time, an additional ten minute break and a daily third period. This new schedule fails, however, to provide students with any real relief from their lack of sleep.
According to the National Sleep Foundation, high school students need anywhere from 8.25 to 9.25 hours of sleep to maintain healthy brain function throughout the school day. In reality, many students struggle to get their needed hours of sleep.
“I definitely struggle with getting 8-10 hours of sleep,” junior Michelle Martin said.
Students like Martin, see the schedule as a pointless shift rather than a true fix to the problem of sleep deprivation among teens.
“I honestly don’t think it’s going to help [change] our sleep schedule at all,” Martin said.
In addition, many students with extracurriculars and rigorous schedules see the schedule change as a shortening of their afternoon.
“I usually come home from practice and do my homework then go to bed at 9:30 but when practice ends later I have less time to do my homework and still get to bed on time,” junior Kaela Wilbur said. “I don’t like staying up late.”
Chronic lack of sleep will not be alleviated by waking up 50 minutes later, as after school activities are forced to push their schedules later into the night and therefore, the only change is when students are getting their few hours of sleep each night.
“We are going to have less time to do homework which affects our sleep,” sophomore Sri Medicherla said. “It’s kind of counterproductive.”
In addition, the new bell schedule costs the County more than they can afford.
According to FCPS 2015 Approved Plan, they plan to spend 4.9 million dollars in order to accommodate the fifty minute shift in start times.
“Later start times is going to cause a lot of [financial] problems,” sophomore Mimi Comer said.
With a 435 million dollar decrease in funding since 2008 and the costs of major projects such as later start times, Fairfax County has been forced to cut back on a plethora of expenditures including over 2,175 jobs of teachers and staff.
“We are already struggling to pay our teachers [and fund] different school groups,” Comer said.
The County cannot afford to make this much of a drastic change, and yet the wheels are already set in motion.
According to the Fairfax County Public Schools website, the change has already been factored into the new budget.
In addition to the fifty minute delay overall, the schedule at McLean must change drastically in order to fit in the lunch periods along with the later start time.
With this new schedule, third period will be embedded into everyday along with two ten minute breaks placed before Highlander Time and after 4th/5th period. The schedule change has left many students unsure of the coming year.
“Seventh period is a time you can unwind,” Medicherla said. “it’s nice to have a shorter class at the end of the day.”
Further, many classes that have been placed in seventh period for years are now possibly in different periods for next year.
“I am sad that I am not going to end my day with band anymore,” sophomore Zoë
Chandra said.
The new schedule for the 2015-2016 school year leaves students out of sorts, often with altered sleep cycles and drastic new schedules. In either case, later start times hurt students more than help them.
