The Weight of Our New School Schedule

The stress created by our new school schedule can be debated by every individual, but at some point the opinions begin to sound similar. At some point, students quietly agree that it’s just not working for them. 

One of the most recent and biggest shifts in our Sultana school schedule is the new start time. The last time Sultana students were in person for school, we started at 7:30. Now, we start over an hour later at 8:45. One of the reasons for this change was so that students could get more sleep. Is that really the result? 

Six students at Sultana admitted that, “yes” they sleep in later since the start time was pushed back. One of these students,  Lino Toral, even said, “ My favorite thing about the new late start is that I can go to bed later.” 

 Even though the change in start time was meant for students to get more sleep, they tend to be going to bed a lot later and getting the same amount of sleep as they had been before, or in some cases, less. 

You would expect that students would be happy to sleep in.  The change in start time was meant to make them feel more ready for the day. This, unfortunately, is not the way that most people feel about the later start. 

Five out of six students said that getting up isn’t any easier than it was before. Although, sophomore Aniya Simmonds said that she never had an issue getting up in the first place. 

The participants all confessed that one of their least favorites things about late start was getting out later. Madelyn Embrey, a senior at Sultana highschool, explained that over distance learning she got a job. Getting out later due to the later start was very inconvenient for her: “ I was almost homeschooled because of it.”  Fortunately, she was able to attain early out on her schedule, but she certainly wasn’t the only one with this problem. 

Many people feel the change in start time was unnecessary. Lino Toral were confused as to why the late start time was needed. He stated, “ If teenagers need more sleep, then just go to bed earlier.” 

Senior Sydney Weeks went on to say “ It makes it difficult for people who have activities outside of school.” It’s safe to conclude that many people find the new schedule impractical, but there are some that feel differently. 

Aniya feels the opposite and claimed “ When I found out I was like ‘okay, bet, this is nice.’ ” 

Usually, people tend to get used to shifts in their schedules. After a week or two the change sets in and it becomes normal.  While this could possibly still happen, peoples opinions about it have not changed yet. The six Sultana participants said that their initial opinions about the subject are the same since the time they started school. 

Later start time means later lunch. The old Sultana lunch time was 11:59, and now it is 37 minutes later at 12:36. Are students hungrier by lunchtime? Four out of six of the students from Sultana said they are. 

Even though the start time is later, people still tend to get up early depending on many different factors. Even though it might seem as though there are the same amount of hours between getting up and eating lunch as there had been before, many have explained that there isn’t because they are still eating breakfast at the same time as they were before the schedule change. 

Five of the participants agreed that they are more hungry than they were before by the time they get to lunch, but some, like Aniya, said they’ve always been super hungry by the time they get to lunch. 

You’d think that people would be jumping with joy in response to the late start. The school days should feel easier and students should be less tired. It may be possible that it had the opposite effect. 

A handful of students opinions have contradicted the original reasonings for the late start. The days actually feel longer, they are hungrier by lunch time, and it can be quite inconvenient. Late start hasn’t exactly made a positive impact.