Editorial: We can help them sleep on it
October 26, 2011 at 9:29 am in River Falls Journal
Morning start times for our local public schools are under scrutiny, and with good reason. Studies show we are increasingly a sleep-deprived nation, which is bad because sleep is called food for the brain. Continue Reading
“[O]n school days adolescents are obtaining less sleep then they are thought to need, and the factor with the biggest impact is school start times.” (Knutson & Lauderdale, Sociodemographic and behavioral predictors of bed time and wake time among U.S. adolescents aged 15–17 years (Mar. 2009) 154 J. Pediatr. 3, 426–430, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2783185/) To the extent the editors believe the question of school start times should be decided on economic grounds, it’s unfortunate the opinions of economists were not considered. Economists from the University of Michigan and Columbia University predict increased student earnings of $17,500 annually (in present value) when start times are delayed by 60 minutes. They also estimate a 9 to 1 benefits to cost ratio for later start times. (Jacob & Rockoff, Organizing Schools to Improve Student Achievement: Start Times, Grade Configurations, and Teacher Assignments (Sept. 2011) The Hamilton Project, Brookings Inst., http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/papers/2011/09_organize_jacob_rockoff/092011_organize_jacob_rockoff_paper.pdf) http://schoolstarttime.org/
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