Source link : https://las-vegas-news.com/ccsd-reshapes-school-days-later-high-school-starts-target-teen-sleep-needs/
Science Drives the Schedule Shift (Image Credits: Unsplash)
Las Vegas – The Clark County School District implemented new start times for the 2026-27 school year to better align school bells with students’ biological rhythms, particularly benefiting high schoolers while posing challenges for middle schoolers.[1][2]
Science Drives the Schedule Shift
Officials based the changes on decades of sleep research. High schoolers, who currently began classes around 7 a.m., now start at 8:30 a.m. This adjustment addresses the natural delay in teenagers’ circadian rhythms during puberty.[1]
Middle schools shifted to 7:30 a.m. from about 8 a.m., and elementary schools moved to 9:15 a.m. from roughly 9 a.m. Superintendent Jhone Ebert explained the priority: “The new school start times better align with the sleep needs of high school students. Research shows that later start times for high school students lead to more sleep, reduced anxiety, and greater alertness, which in turn improve attendance, standardized test scores, and graduation rates.”[2]
Transportation constraints shaped the staggered approach. The district runs the nation’s largest school bus fleet, handling 31,000 daily stops. Uniform starts would demand tripling vehicles at enormous cost.[2]
High Schoolers Poised for Clear Gains
Experts highlighted substantial upsides for teens. University of Minnesota researcher Kyla Wahlstrom noted that an 8:30 a.m. start enables high school students to achieve at least…
—-
Author : Matthias Binder
Publish date : 2026-02-02 20:52:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
—-
1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8