It’s a brand new school year in Oxford and with it comes changes to when the day begins and ends at the district’s five elementary schools, middle school and high school.
Changes at the state level led to changes at the district level, according to Oxford Chief Academic Officer Dr. James Schwarz.
‘The state requires 1098 hours (of classroom instruction a year),? Schwarz said. ‘Because they’ve adjusted the required amount of hours required for professional development for teachers, there is slight variation in (school) times.?
‘Late Start Wednesdays? for the high school and middle school, and early dismissal for the elementary level are all related to teacher professional development.
‘There are seven-and-half days (spread( over the course of the school year (for early dismissal at the elementary schools) that’s part of that professional development,? Schwarz explained.
Clear Lake, Oxford and Leonard elementary schools will all start their days at 8:58 a.m. and end at 4:04 p.m. Daniel Axford Elementary will start at 8:48 a.m. and end at 3:54 p.m., while Lakeville Elementary will start at 8:36 a.m. and end at 3:42 p.m.
Oxford Middle School’s days will start at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:33 p.m., while Oxford High School will begin at 7:49 a.m. and end at 2:58 p.m. ‘Late start? Wednesdays will be an exception. That’s when classes will begin at 10 a.m. at OMS and 10:15 a.m. at OHS.
On days with early dismissals, the end times will be as follows ? Oxford, Leonard and Clear Lake elementaries (12:15 p.m.), Daniel Axford (12:05 p.m.), Lakeville (11:53 a.m.), OMS (10:40 a.m.) and OHS (11 a.m.).
Speaking of school times, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) put out a press release last week recommending delaying start times for middle and high schools in order ‘to combat sleep deprivation.?
‘Chronic sleep loss in children and adolescents is one of the most common ? and easily fixable ? public health issues in the U.S. today,? said pediatrician Judith Owens, MD, FAAP, lead author of the policy statement, ‘School Times of Adolescents,? published in the September 2014 issue of Pediatrics.
The AAP recommends middle and high schools delay the start of class until 8:30 a.m. or later, because ‘doing so will align the biological sleep rhythms of adolescents, whose sleep-wake cycles begin to shift up to two hours later at the start of puberty.? The delayed start would also allow students to get the recommended 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep a night.
‘The studies on later starts for high school students is primarily because psychologically, they are wired that way to stay up late and get up late, plus students that have athletics late into the evening or work late into the evening,? Schwarz explained. ‘This is a new study, but it’s just confirming information that’s already been had with prior research.?
Oxford high school has a start time of 7:49 a.m., middle school starts at 7:30 a.m. and the elementary schools start between 8:36 to 8:58 a.m.
Meanwhile, Lake Orion’s High School begins at 7:30 a.m.; middle school at 7:35 a.m. and elementary schools 8:15, 8:50 and 8:55.
Clarkston High School also starts at 7:30 a.m., Junior high (eight and ninth grade) at 7:45 and middle school (sixth and seventh grade) at 7:40 and elementary schools at 8:20 a.m. and 8:35 a.m.
Brandon High School starts at 7:25 a.m.; middle school at 7:40 a.m. and elementary schools at 9 a.m.
While they’ve ‘moved in the right direction,? with altering their start times for high school over the course of the years, Schwarz said they are also considering, at some point in the future, moving elementary start times to around 8 to 8:15 a.m. because studies have shown elementary students are inclined to wake up earlier.
‘That’s something we’ve certainly had conversations about,? he noted.
As far as later start times for the high school students, Schwarz said they have seen a benefit.
‘I think with later starts, your attendance is better, you have less tardies and students walking in late,? he said. ‘I certainly believe that improves their overall concentration as well and you’re catching them when they’re more awake.?