Delayed Starts Let Students Sleep

By ADIZA ALASA ‘19

Last school year, the Self-Governing Association (SGA) worked toward an initiative to address student mental health, with particular attention to sleep. As a result, three delayed starts have been granted to Upper School students this year, the first of which occurred on Monday.

After the work by last year’s Head Monitors, Kailee Silver ‘18 and Greg Livingston ‘18, students and faculty at Milton have paid more attention to student stress levels. Student responses indicated that demanding homework loads and a lack of proper sleep were among the most significant contributors to stress, both of which could be reduced by occasional later starts to the school day.

According to current Head Monitor Asia Chung ‘19, her predecessors were inspired by the adapted schedules following all-school assemblies by guests like Rodney Glasgow and Rosetta Lee. Silver and Livingston met with Academic Dean Jackie Bonnenfant, SGA Faculty Sponsor José Ruiz, and the academic department heads to propose several dates for the late starts. The Head Monitors sought to schedule the delayed starts for peak times of student stress, such as the early college application due date for seniors, DYO and research project due dates, and the final stretch of athletics and theater performances.

Research by the National Sleep Association has shown that high school students need eight to ten hours of sleep per night. The rigor of courses and investment in extracurricular activities at Milton, along with commutes for day students and dorm obligations for boarders, make getting the proper amount of sleep nearly impossible. With the 10 a.m. starts, students can get an extra two hours of sleep or use the spare time in the morning to relax and eat breakfast without feeling rushed.

Though few students appear displeased by the delayed starts, some people felt challenged by the shortened class times, which may feel rushed or unproductive for both students and teachers who are working with 15 fewer minutes than usual. After Monday, the Head Monitors sent a survey to the student body and received mostly positive feedback.

Chung said, “One challenge with these delayed starts will be pleasing every single student, which applies to anything that [the SGA] does, but hopefully, students can really take advantage of the opportunity we have to get some extra sleep.”

Students can look forward to more of these late starts on Thursday, February 28 and Friday, May 17.