Due to a shortage of school bus drivers in the Delta County school district, school start times were forced to change in January 2022. Due to this circumstance, middle school and high school now start at 7:45 a.m. and end at 2:50 p.m. Even though changing the start times made it easier for the bus system to function with a lack of drivers, it also changed students’ routines and schedules.
Delta High School seniors weigh in on how the change has affected them and how they feel about school starting earlier.
“I personally like it more because we finish earlier which I like especially as an athlete because it means my practice ends earlier,” said senior Shayla Curtis.
Many seniors like getting out of school earlier because they have more time after school to be able to do things such as sports, clubs, and even work. There often isn’t a lot of time before school anyway, but getting out earlier provides more time for students to do things they need and still get to bed at a reasonable time.
However, starting school earlier can have some other effects, like kids not having enough sleep and coming to school late or tired. This can impact students’ academic performance, health, and ability to participate in extracurriculars. “Starting school at 7:45 makes before [school] clubs nearly impossible. Furthermore, if kids have jobs after school they are more fatigued due to the time they have to wake up at,” said Judah Neely ‘24.
Because most kids go to bed between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m., needing to wake up before 7:45 a.m. can be a big task, and it can take away from teenagers’ valuable sleep. “Starting school at or after 8:00 would be beneficial because students would have more time to sleep. Most teenagers stay up pretty late for numerous reasons, including jobs, studying, and extracurricular activities. This would improve attentiveness in class seeing as students would be less tired,” said senior Lakayla Sheets.
Students at DHS seem to have mixed sleep schedules, and with school starting at 7:45, they might not be able to get enough sleep or be able to do all of the activities they want to do. Kids often get overwhelmed with the fact that they have school all day and then some have to work immediately after until 5-8 p.m. An average high school student needs about 8-10 hours of sleep, however, if they have work and participate in sports and clubs as well as school, they can be even more tired.
This change is definitely easier on the bus drivers because they don’t have to stop at three different schools now, and they can drop off middle and high school students and then the elementary schoolers. “I think it’s made our job better. We separate the high school and middle school from the elementary. And it also financially gives us more time. So we like it. It works out really well for us,” said bus driver Tracy Martinez.
