On Thursday, March 27th, FCPS started to plan a pilot program for changing middle school times, causing the Mason District to start school at 8 am, which is later than usual middle schools. The schools that are affected by the pilot program are Glasgow Middle School, Holmes Middle School, and Poe Middle school.
Because of the middle schools starting at 7:30 am, a lot of students haven’t been getting enough sleep. In 2011, FCPS surveyed 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students about how many hours of sleep they were getting on school days. Two-thirds of the students said that they get seven hours of sleep or less on school nights.
“I think school starts too early,” 7th grader Karema A said. “I don’t get enough sleep, I don’t wake up positively, and I’m not in a good mood at school because of how tired I am.”
According to sleepfoundation.org, 60% of middle school students don’t get enough sleep at night. A lot of students reported that they didn’t get enough sleep, so FCPS came up with the pilot program for the Mason District to test.
“I get about six or six and a half hours of sleep,” 7th grader Sofia A said. “I get really tired in the mornings because I don’t have enough sleep.”
Lamees Z, a 7th grade middle school student, thinks that middle school should start later.
“I think we should start at 8 am, or later,” she said. “I think more students would get more sleep and be more awake in the morning.”
Asra N, another 7th grade student, thinks that middle schools starting later could be better for everyone.
“I feel like if middle schools start later, it would be better for other students,” she said. “More people would be awake, and they would get more sleep.”
