Parents In Cheltenham Ask School Administrators For Later Start Time
By Brad Segall
CHELTENHAM, Pa. (CBS) - The conversation is still in the very earliest stages, but some parents in a Montgomery County school district are considering asking administrators to change the start time for their high school.
Rhonda Feder's daughter is in 10th grade at Cheltenham High School. Class starts at 7:30. She can't help but wonder whether her school work is affected because she and other teens may be sleep deprived.
Feder started a Facebook page to get input from other parents and says the research is out there that shows a later start date would be beneficial to students.
"Well they're saying that teenagers are in a unique phase of life developmentally. It's post puberty where their bodies simply are on a different rhythm," Feder said. "A different clock when they were younger."
Many teens don't get to bed until eleven o'clock or later and not because they're distracted by school work or their electronic devices. She admits there are challenges with a later start time like bus runs and after school athletic schedules. The National Sleep Foundation says about 80 districts across the country have made the change.