School Start Times for WPS Academic Year 2023-24 Intended to Give High Schoolers More Sleep

High school students can enjoy an extra 50 minutes of sleep, under Westwood Public Schools' (WPS') finalized calendar of school start times for the 2023-2024 academic year, while students at WPS' middle school, elementary schools, and preschool will experience changes in school start times of 3, 10, and 15 minutes, respectively.

Westwood High School's hours are now 8:15 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Last year, they were 7:25 a.m. to 2:05 p.m.

Thurston Middle School's hours are now 7:45 a.m. to 2:22 p.m. Last year, they were 7:48 a.m. to 2:25 p.m.

Deerfield, Downey, Hanlon, Martha Jones and Sheehan schools' hours are now 9:00 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. Last year, they were 8:50 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.

Westwood Integrated Preschool's new hours are 8:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. (half day) or 2:30 p.m. (full day). Last year, they were 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (half day) or 2:45 p.m. (full day).

Westwood's School Committee voted last November to make the change to a later start time, based on research showing that with adolescence comes a change in teenagers' biological rhythms. Their bodies operate on a later clock, and they tend to get sleepy later. Therefore, to get the recommended 8 to 10 hours of sleep, they also need to wake up later. 

The change to Westwood High School's start time is intended to counteract the effects of sleep deprivation where the American Academy of Pediatrics has found that the average adolescent is "chronically sleep deprived and pathologically sleepy." When adolescents do not get enough sleep, they are at risk of becoming overweight, depressive, engaging in unhealthy behaviors, and performing poorly in school.

As a result of changing Westwood High School's start time, the start times of WPS's middle school, elementary schools, and preschool have also been adjusted. The changes in start time for these campuses are intended to allow parents to coordinate childcare, coordinate drop-off and pick-up schedules of different aged siblings who attend different schools, and avoid too much traffic congestion on Westwood's roads.

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