Debate On School Start

Times Should Focus On Kids

To the Editor:

It was with great interest that I read your editorial remarks in last week’s Bee regarding the on-going debate about school start times. I appreciate your continued coverage of this important topic and I thank you for being a voice of reason.

The Connecticut State Board of Education, the Connecticut PTA, and the National Institute of Health are among many organizations which recommend later start times for adolescent students. Interestingly, the phrase used in your editorial, “bang for the buck,” was used last spring by a physician at the Mayo Clinic when a Newtown Board of Education member called to inquire about this issue. What our children would have gained by financing the two extra buses in question, or even one extra bus, would have been well worth the relatively small amount of money spent.

I am encouraged that our superintendent will be forming a committee to study the impact of school start times on children. I whole-heartedly agree with The Bee that the involvement of medical and sleep specialists on the committee would be beneficial. I would in fact say that it is paramount to the integrity of such a committee. Newtown parents need to be assured that our children’s well-being will be the focus of this study. The bus schedules, extracurricular activity, child care issues, etc, are all important and need to be addressed. But first and foremost, without potential conflicts of interest, let’s answer the question. What is best for Newtown children?

The public also needs opportunities to be educated about adolescent sleep patterns and how sleep deprivation relates to our children’s health, safety, and education. I hope to find an organization –– or if need be, to form one –– which will support an informational campaign so that parents, teachers, and students can better understand this issue. This is not about lazy teenagers or permissive parents, but about human development. There is a lot of information available on the Internet, and I encourage parents to take the time to familiarize themselves with the research. A good place to start is the National Sleep Foundation (www.sleepfoundation.org) and the Wilton League of Women Voters (go to www.lwvct.org/wilton then click on Local Studies). The research gives scientific credence to something that appears to be just plain common sense: Young children are alert and ready to learn early in the morning and adolescents are not.

Wendy Leon-Gambetta

18 Sawmill Ridge Road, Newtown                             August 20, 2003