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Look at All of the Ways

Thanks go to the members of the Board of Education for looking into the complicated issue of school start times. A local sleep expert has pointed to sleep deprivation as a contributing factor for many issues among teenagers, including depression, car accidents, and poor student achievement.

However, I haven’t seen data about the sleep patterns of Guilford’s students. How have we identified the extent of this problem in our community? What does the data show about our students’ mental health? How about car crash rates? We already know that student achievement at Guilford High School is among the highest in the nation.

Before we try to solve a problem, I think it is important to clearly define it. I’m curious if experts in other fields have been consulted. Are there other, more effective ways that we can combat these issues if they exist in our community? Before we spend more than a quarter of a million dollars changing school start times, it’s important that we look at all of the ways that we might improve the mental and physical health of our students.

I’m open to the idea of change as long as it is the best change we can possibly make for all of the students in our schools.

Allison Dudley Pelliccio

Guilford