LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Clark County School District parents are raising questions about how changing school start times for middle and high school students will impact their children when the new schedule takes effect this August.
I reached out to renowned sleep expert Dr. Jerry Hu to address parent concerns about the upcoming changes. Research shows later start times will improve learning for high school students, but many parents are wondering how it will affect their kids' health and daily routines.
WATCH | The impact of changing school start times on students
"You really believe that for high school students, getting this extra hour for CCSD students, you will see an impact on their grades... absolutely, I do think that just getting that extra hour because generally when we talk about high school students, they go to bed later after puberty they tend to fall asleep after 11 p.m. and so if we move that hour up, you will see, especially these freshmen that come in and they've had 4 years of this changed later scheduled start time, they're gonna have better test performance in school," Hu said.
However, the impact on middle school students may be different.
"For the middle schoolers though, that may be a different story. Yeah, so again I have to fall back on the fact that when you start later school times that's kind of consistent in the research so when we pull back earlier time, it may be a little bit more challenging but hopefully, parents are gonna be able to kind of weigh that out and then in high school really set and prepare for that good circadian rhythm, that routine and that later start time so they can maximize," Hu said.
The school district will continue to monitor test scores and student performance as the new schedule rolls out this fall.
I am committed to staying on top of the school schedule changes. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us by going to ktnv.com/letstalk and filling out the form.
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