Our kids need sleep, not S.L.E.E.P.
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140627/OPINION/140629235/1076/Our-kids-need-sleep-not-SLEEP&template=fairfaxTimes

Let me start by saying that despite what some proponents to schedule changes may imply, we all care deeply about the wellbeing of our kids. What we disagree on is the cost to benefit realities of proposed solutions.

The University Of Cincinnati recently conducted a study of 1000 teens. This study revealed that the biggest factors in teen sleep habits were not biological as claimed by the SLEEP organization. The biggest contributors to proper sleep habits were in fact social ties and parental involvement. Teens that had strong social ties and friends with good sleep habits were more inclined to have better sleep habits themselves. Furthermore, it was found that teens that had parents who were actively involved in sleep schedules had far better sleep habits than those teens whose parents were not involved. The University Of Cincinnati research findings are reaffirmed by a 1994 study by Dr. Mary Carskadon. Carefully selected parts of Dr. Carskadon’s study are often quoted by the SLEEP organization. However, SLEEP fails to mention that 95 percent of the teens in the 1994 study reported that parents played no part in setting bedtimes.

SLEEP is quick to point out that 72 of 95 counties in Virginia have later start times. Yet Fairfax County outperforms all other Virginia school districts. The average SAT score and average graduation rate in Virginia are 1528/83 percent respectively. Fairfax County averages are 1663/92 percent respectively. The national average is 1498/80 percent respectively. The SLEEP website also lists several districts from Florida, Texas and Georgia as “successes” for later start times. NO individual district listed comes close to Fairfax County averages and all are below national averages. Texas 1434/83 percent, Florida 1457/75 percent, Georgia 1452/67 percent, New Jersey 1521/86 percent. SLEEP has a list of schools across the country with later start times that were ranked by U.S. NEWS. They forgot to mention that the same report shows that 9 of the top 10 high schools in Virginia are located in Fairfax County.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) conducts an annual nationwide survey of students. It includes 8th 10th and 12th graders. This survey is called the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). SLEEP tells us that 30 percent of our surveyed students report having felt depressed. The national average is 30 percent including those schools with later start times. However, Fairfax County students are below the national average for those teens that have considered suicide. We are 50 percent below the national average for those teens that have actually attempted suicide. Fairfax County is below the national average in ALL age groups for substance abuse/use including alcohol and marijuana. Marion County, Florida, with later start times and listed as a SLEEP success, is above the national average in all categories and their attempted suicide rate is more than double that of Fairfax County. Can somebody from SLEEP explain how that can be true given their later start times? Could it be that later start times is not the solution to teen problems?

SLEEP wants to scare you with the talk of drowsy teen drivers but yet no accidents in the past five years have been attributed to a drowsy teen in Fairfax County. Furthermore, this School Board has told us that elementary students will not be commuting in the dark. They propose that busses will pick kids up at their front door. What about walkers? With proposed elementary start times of 7:40 and 7:45 and winter sunrise at 7:25, your elementary student will walk to school in the dark.

Next school year, our school system will endure $98 million in cuts. We will lose 720 staff members. Class sizes will grow and our children will suffer. Two objective start time studies have been performed in the past at great expense. Both studies concluded that this change would not be right for Fairfax County. This board chose to disregard the past studies and instead spent money we don’t have and hired The Children’s National Medical Center. They did not ask CNMC to determine whether this was a right for Fairfax County. They instead told them to figure out how to make it happen. Curiously, Dr. Judith Owens of the CNMC recently said “delaying start times does not guarantee that students will get more sleep.” Really?

Fairfax County is the 13th largest school system in the nation but yet we run and maintain the largest bus fleet. Now this fiscally irresponsible School Board wants to add 20 to 60+ additional busses to support later start times. The cost for this fleet change ranges from $2.7 million to almost $8 million. They have yet to tell us what the annual ongoing cost of these busses and staff will be. Needless to say, this money will be spent as we continue to endure cuts from the true educational needs of our children.

I have proposed to the board that a better use of time and funds would be to start an awareness program. Give students and parents the information and tools that they need to make good decisions with regard to developing good sleep habits. Begin this program in Elementary School and continue it until graduation. Let’s work together to provide our children the life tools they will need meet the world head-on and succeed.

In conclusion, it is my opinion that the message being sent by SLEEP and this School Board, that later start times is the silver bullet solution to a long list of teen problems, is irresponsible and dangerous. If they implement their schedule change, proponents will slap high fives and move on, yet they will have done nothing to address the real issues facing our youth.

Email your School Board to voice your opinion. fairfaxcountyschoolboard@fcps.edu

Jeff Stewart, Chantilly

kids these days are involved in too many after school activities.....sports, band, clubs. they need to stop crying about not getting enough sleep, and cut out some of those activities if they cant get their school work done. majority of us graduated without any problems. its just preparing them for the real world, where sleep is over rated. theres is nothing requiring kids to be involved in sportss, and the parents who think their kids going to get a free ride to college on a sports scholarship are only kidding themselves. the chances of getting a full ride to college based on sports is slim to none. kids are better off doing well in school, and are more likely to get a scholarship based off of academics. wow, very shocking seeing that they are going to school to LEARN. the best part of being at the ffx co budget hearings, was listening to the kids and teachers cry to the board of supervisors about the lack of sleep kids get. speaker after speaker came up to the podium with the same message. the entire time, i knew the board has no say over the school start times, but i chuckled inside. then after the last one spoke, a board member basically told all of them that they wasted their time speaking to the board about their sleep problems, because the school board decides start times, not the board of supervisors. it was great and shut them all up.

To both the OP and the second poster...

 
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tldr  Wrote:
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> To both the OP and the second poster...
>
>  


Shame. You might have actually learned something.

Your points:

Teen sleep habits are social, not biological.
Parents are the root cause of good teen sleep habits.
Teens with good sleep habits have friends with good sleep habits.

72 of 95 Virginia counties have later start times.
None of these 72 counties have better scores than Fairfax.
No school district nationally with later start times has better test scores than Fairfax.
9 of 10 of the top Virginia High Schools are in Fairfax, all but one with early start times.

Fairfax teens have a lower depression/suicide rate than schools with later start times.
Zero car accidents in Fairfax county in the past five years have been attributed to teen drowsiness.

Dr. Judith Owens (directed latest of three expensive studies for FCPS) concluded: “delaying start times does not guarantee that students will get more sleep.”

Other two studies concluded: "this change would not be right for Fairfax County."

$2.7 to $8 million needed for new buses for later HS start times. Unknown increase in annual maintenance costs.

They definitely need sleep, but that means going to bed early, no later than 10pm.

Benefits of later high school start time are clear
http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/article/20140702/OPINION/140709744/1065/benefits-of-later-high-school-start-time-are-clear&template=fairfaxTimes

In response to last week’s letter to the editor, “What students need is sleep, not SLEEP”, the letter-writer is correct that Fairfax County students need sleep, but despite his assertions, it’s not just good parenting that enables high schoolers to get adequate sleep. Medical and educational experts, who have studied the body of research about teen sleep patterns and school start times, would tell you that starting high school later means more sleep for adolescents. In fact, the middle and high schools in many of the communities in the sociology study cited by the letter-writer start after 8 a.m.

The point is, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) have early start times and the vast majority of Fairfax teens are sleep deprived. The 2012 Fairfax County Youth Report found that only 1/4th of FCPS sophomores and 1/6th of FCPS seniors get 8 hours of sleep or more per night and pediatricians recommend 9 hours for this age group.

Unfortunately, last week’s letter included a number of other points that are just flat wrong. Contrary to what was published, the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control show that Fairfax students are not doing as well in terms of mental health as other students in the nation. The percentage of Fairfax teens who report symptoms of depression and consider suicide is higher than the national average (according to a September 2013 fact sheet from Fairfax County). In this case, “higher” is bad. A smaller percentage of Fairfax students reported attempting suicide, but our community is still grieving the loss of the students who died by suicide earlier this year. Even one life lost to suicide is one too many. SLEEP is grateful to the many people and organizations working together in Fairfax to prevent and treat depression in our young people.

SLEEP has never claimed that providing later high school start times would eliminate all depression, but research in districts that have made this change has shown decreases in student depression and the need for medication. Changing start times is an opportunity to help many children and families.

SLEEP recognizes that there are some students who function well with the very early start time, but most do not. Everything is not fine. Community members need to understand that buses begin picking up students at 5:40 a.m. and many of our children are required to rise between 5 and 6 a.m. Earlier this year, a mother received this desperate text from her son, “I can’t keep going to school this early. I can’t stay awake in first period. I get home and I’m exhausted, so homework goes super slow... I don’t care if we have to move or send me to private school or something. This is really ruining my life.”

Plainly stated, students are more alert and awake when school starts later.

The letter-writer touted the lower than national average percentages for alcohol and marijuana use as further evidence of the value of the status quo, but there is no research evidence making a case that early start times have any protective value and there is evidence to the contrary. Further, while he is right about marijuana and alcohol use, he failed to mention that according to the 2012 Fairfax County Youth Survey Report, “Fairfax County students reported higher rates of use in the past months for all other drugs for which national comparison data are available (inhalants, LSD, Ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamines, steroids, and heroin).”

Our average test scores are top-notch and higher than many districts that already have later start times. But, what the letter-writer ignores is that parent-education levels and income levels in Fairfax also are higher and these demographic elements have a large impact on test scores and academic performance. More than one study has shown that student performance improves when schools shift start times later. In terms of cost, the outcome data from multiple districts have shown numerous benefits to health, well-being, safety, and performance. Brookings economists have said a shift of one hour is equivalent to two added months in school in terms of improved performance. That’s huge!

The letter-writer’s attempt to malign the school board and the all-volunteer efforts of dedicated parents, teachers, students, and health professionals are misplaced. Once implemented, we won’t be slapping “high-fives” and moving on. We’ll be right here continuing to advocate for the health and well-being of students in Fairfax County Public Schools. We’ll be serving their needs as health-care providers, social workers, psychologists, teachers, parent volunteers in the classrooms, and serving on the school health advisory committee, the Partnership for a Healthier Fairfax, and the Healthy Kids’ Coalition – just like we do now. We’ll continue to work to increase awareness of sleep health and appropriate bedtime routines as we have done for the past ten years.

Elizabeth Ende,

SLEEP Communications Director

The reason why...

I see Hispanics out in public with the kids at late hours of the night. Especially the ones with babies and toddlers. Why the hell aren't your kids in bed at 10, 11 or Midnight?

>Even one life lost to suicide is one too many

Later starts is going to mix student and commuter traffic more. I am sure that will be safer for the students.

So if Fairfax does go to the later start times, is it true that practices will now be in the morning before school?

Fcps said no morning practices. Sports will end if thus this goes through. There will not be any coaches or fields if these late start times happen.

The entire county population is against later start times for high schools. Even the immigrant dads who have to be up early at the 7-11 parking lot for their day jobs.

SLEEP, Inc., has turned this into a religious crusade.

Plainly stated, students are more alert and awake when they go to sleep earlier, regardless of when school starts.

In response to last week’s letter to the editor, “Benefits of later high school start time are clear”, the letter-writer is correct that Fairfax County students need sleep, but despite her assertions, it’s mostly good parenting that enables high schoolers to get adequate sleep. Medical and educational experts, who have studied the body of research about teen sleep patterns and school start times, would tell you that starting high school later, by itself, does not mean more sleep for adolescents. In fact, the middle and high schools in many of the communities in the sociology study cited by the letter-writer that start after 8 a.m. have far lower success rates by many measures than those schools that start earlier.

The point is, high-achieving communities such as Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) have early start times and the vast majority of Fairfax teens are technically sleep deprived. The 2012 Fairfax County Youth Report found that only 1/4th of FCPS sophomores and 1/6th of FCPS seniors get 8 hours of sleep or more per night and pediatricians recommend 9 hours for this age group. Our highest achievers report that they routinely receive even less sleep.

Unfortunately, last week’s letter included a number of other points that are just flat wrong. Contrary to what was published, the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by the Centers for Disease Control show that Fairfax students are doing as well in terms of mental health as other students in the nation in many areas. The percentage of Fairfax teens who report symptoms of depression and consider suicide is just slightly higher than the national average (according to a September 2013 fact sheet from Fairfax County). In this case, “higher” is bad, but there is no data that supports the theory that starting school later reduces teen suicide. A smaller percentage of Fairfax students reported attempting suicide, but our community is still grieving the loss of the students who died by suicide earlier this year. Even one life lost to suicide is one too many. SLEEP's attempt to draw a link between these dead young people and their argument for later start times is appalling.

SLEEP claims that providing later high school start times would reduce depression in some teens, and a reduced need for medication, statements not based on any medical study. Changing start times in hopes that it might help some children and families in these circumstances is just not based on fact.

SLEEP states that they recognize that the vast majority of FCPS students function well with the current start times, but seeks to ban these students from participating in early morning school-based activities if schools start later. Everything will not be fine. Community members need to understand that no students actually board a bus at 5:40 a.m. despite SLEEP's contention, and many of our children will still be required to rise between 5 and 6 a.m. regardless of school start times. Earlier this year, a SLEEP supporter received this desperate text from her son, “I can’t keep going to school this early. I can’t stay awake in first period. I get home and I’m exhausted, so homework goes super slow... I don’t care if we have to move or send me to private school or something. This is really ruining my life.” Forcing this child to stay in school an hour later each afternoon will make it even worse.

Plainly stated, students are more alert and awake when they go to bed earlier, not because school starts at 7:20.

The letter-writer acknowledges the lower than national average percentages for alcohol and marijuana use as further evidence of the value of the status quo, and that there is no research evidence making a case that later start times have any protective value, and there is evidence to the contrary. Further, while she is right about marijuana and alcohol use, she also mentioned that according to the 2012 Fairfax County Youth Survey Report, “Fairfax County students reported higher rates of use in the past months for all other drugs for which national comparison data are available (inhalants, LSD, Ecstasy, cocaine, methamphetamines, steroids, and heroin).” Attempting to link later start times to reduced drug use by teens is inane, and not supported by any scientific evidence.

Our average test scores are top-notch and higher than many districts that have later start times. And, as the letter-writer also acknowledges, is that parent-education levels and income levels in Fairfax also are higher and these demographic elements have a large impact on test scores and academic performance. More than one study has shown that student performance does not improve when schools shift start times later. In terms of cost, while the outcome data from a very few districts have shown some benefits to health, well-being, safety, and performance, the tens of millions of dollars needed to implement and maintain later start times could be much better used. That’s huge!

The letter-writer’s attempt to imply that SLEEP is bigger than the their five or six school board supporters and the efforts of a few parents, teachers, students, and health professionals are misplaced. Once implemented, they will be slapping “high-fives” and moving on to their next crusade. We’ll be left right here continuing to advocate for the health and well-being of students in Fairfax County Public Schools. We’ll be serving their needs as health-care providers, social workers, psychologists, teachers, parent volunteers in the classrooms, and serving on the school committees – just like we do now. We’ll continue to work to increase awareness of sleep health and appropriate bedtime routines as we have done for the past ten years, even without the political and media connections of SLEEP.

Beth Beginin,

Facts Director

Take away the electronics Wrote:
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> So if Fairfax does go to the later start times, is
> it true that practices will now be in the morning
> before school?

No, school sports will go until 5:30 or later, club sports will start after that, and adult sports will go even later or be scaled back.

SLEEP has asked that the FCPS and FCPA fields and gyms remain unused in the before-school time slots. However, community-based organizations will likely be allowed to use them as the 6:00-8:00 am slots will generate significant revenue for the county.

Coach Wrote:
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> Fcps said no morning practices. Sports will end if
> thus this goes through. There will not be any
> coaches or fields if these late start times
> happen.

If it means that TJ will not have any more sports teams, I am all for it.

How many times do we have to go through this same debate?

And while we are at it, has Fairfax County figured out how to increase its transportation capacity so that it can allow high schools to start later without adversely affecting the start and end times of elementary schools?

How to stay awake and alert, for free, without changing school start times:

See your zygomatic bone?

Feel your way to its highest point (at the front of your face).

Below it, there should be a small depression.

Press on it. Harder, if possible.

This will keep you awake.

Caveat: it may make you feel like you've been punched in the face.
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Varsity wrestling practice started at 5:30am this past season

b9Yty Wrote:
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> They definitely need sleep, but that means going
> to bed early, no later than 10pm.

Every sleep study done produces the same two results: the optimum sleep duration for teens and children is nine hours a night, and, the most productive kids are the ones who get up on weekends at about the same time they get up on weekdays. Given a 10:00 PM bedtime, does that give them close to nine hours?

It doesn't take a high education or a high income to make your kids go to bed at a reasonable hour so they get enough sleep.
When they were babies, mine always napped in their own beds, went to bed on time and woke at the same time every morning. All four have great sleep habits. It's called parenting. Developing good sleep patterns is essential for good health and brain development. Shame so many are going to rely on the county to "fix" things to the tune of millions and inconveniencing many. Such is the generation of kids we are raising.

Anyone think HS kids are going to go to bed same time at night as they do now if the start time is later? Raise your hand.

For half of what it would cost to shift start times, 1 to 4 Million USD, I will sell the county my GTFS-9000. Through advanced microprocessors and state of the art telephone technology, the GTFS-9000 will call all school aged youth at 9:00 PM and tell them to "Get to fucking sleep!!!"

For an additional one million dollars, I will enable the new NSA module, which will disable all electronic devices and network connections in that household using radical satellite-based EMP targeting if sleep is not detected.

Pony-up, bitches.

Taxpayer X

Beth Beginin needs to send her post as a letter to every school board member as well as to the media. Coupled with the brilliant letter from Jeff Stewart it presents a wake up call to school board members who have been nagged and whipped into drinking the kool-aid of the S.L.E.E.P. advocates. Despite the S.L.E.E.P. committee members' articulately worded retorts that parents at the town hall meetings were impressed with the presentation, fact is the advocates positioned themselves at as many "work tables" as they could at each meeting to lobby and berate those who had serious questions about the "science". Credit to S.L.E.E.P. to know how to manipulate an audience. FCPS does not have buckets of tax-payer cash to pour into any of these ill-conceived four "options." HS students do NOT want to stay in school an extra hour or more. Parents do NOT want elementary school walkers out in morning dusk to accommodate HS students' extra time in bed. The community does NOT want extra traffic at the height of rush hour. Employees who live out of county do NOT want to add an hour or so to their daily commutes. The school board MUST commission a traffic study and MUST poll students, parents and employees. They fact that they have deliberately NOT done so speaks to their fear that OPTION 5 is the correct choice and they have voted to implement change without essential feedback.

When later start times for high school students was yet again brought before the school board I decided to conduct my own, albeit unscientific poll. I asked my 1st period seniors whether later start times would result in having them get to school on time and whether they would be more alert. Few students said "yes." When I asked whether later start times meant they could stay up later every hand was raised. So, while we may all agree that teens need more sleep, later start times probably won't change a thing, unless of course school starts around noon.

VuMP Wrote:
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> It doesn't take a high education or a high income
> to make your kids go to bed at a reasonable hour
> so they get enough sleep.
> When they were babies, mine always napped in their
> own beds, went to bed on time and woke at the same
> time every morning. All four have great sleep
> habits. It's called parenting. Developing good
> sleep patterns is essential for good health and
> brain development. Shame so many are going to rely
> on the county to "fix" things to the tune of
> millions and inconveniencing many. Such is the
> generation of kids we are raising.

"Parenting" is so passé. Just let it go and trust the government to take care of that for you. Then you won't have to worry about getting kids to sleep, or feeding them. It's the (new) American Way.

So, here in MoCo they thought this was feasible...WRONG When the tax payers and the board found out exactly how many millions it was going to add to the already billions in the hole (just like Fairfax) it was shot down.

It is crazy if you look at the big picture:
Younger kids on the streets in the dark.
Adding a financial burden on families that rely on the older kids for after school care.
Kids that stay after for many numerous reasons, not just sports...will get home very late, push the family meal time back, then trying to do homework at the end of the evening. After being in school/work all day would you want to come home and do more work/homework at 8 or 9 in the evening? I wouldn't!

Lets hope common sense rule. People need to stop pampering and babying their kids and make them man up.

Perhaps S.L.E.E.P. could start advocating N.A.P.S. in the middle of the day.

I am a morning person and I still get tired each day. More sleep = better comprehension.