BIDDEFORD — Citing a desire to give students a better chance to learn, the school committees of Biddeford, Saco and Dayton agreed Wednesday to push back the start times for middle and high school students to 8:30 a.m. or later.
Middle and high school students in those towns now start school between 7:30 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. The change will begin with the fall semester.
The changes are part of a national trend, and are recommended by a variety of medical agencies.
The joint meeting at Pepperell Mill drew dozens of parents and medical professionals, who presented data that suggests teenagers who begin their school day at 8:30 a.m. or later learn better, live healthier lifestyles, are less prone to athletic injuries and less likely to engage in risky behaviors. No one from the public spoke against the proposal.
Students in lower grades will begin earlier than they do now, from 7:45 a.m. in Dayton to 8:10 for some schools in Saco. They now start school between 8:10 and 8:30 a.m. Research suggests that teenagers function better later in the morning than younger students, because of their physiology.
The joint meeting of the school committees also involved administrators from Thornton Academy in Saco, where students from Saco attend high school. Students from Dayton attend middle and high school at Thornton. Thornton Headmaster Rene Menard endorsed the changes.
The Dayton and Saco boards passed the proposal unanimously. Biddeford passed the measure 7-2, with committee members Lisa Vadnais and Crystal Blais voting against it, citing hardship for some families that will have to pay additional day-care costs because of the later start.
Vadnais said she would support the measure if Biddeford High School opened its doors at 7 a.m. to accommodate parents who have to leave for work before their kids go to school. The school plans to open at 7:30 a.m., with classes beginning at 8:35 a.m. “I’m not going to argue the science. Sleep is important for everybody,” Vadnais said. “I am 100 percent for later starts. What I am opposed to is opening the doors at 7:30.”
Biddeford committee chairman Alan Casavant called the change “a real important step for all the communities involved.”
Old Orchard Beach had already shifted its start times for the middle and high schools from 7:30 to 8 a.m. for the current school year. Scarborough, South Portland, Yarmouth and SAD 51 (Greely High School) also are considering later start times. School departments in Westbrook and Cape Elizabeth have pushed back start times in recent years.
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends middle and high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. According to the latest-available CDC report on the topic, Maine’s average high school start time is 7:53 a.m., 10 minutes earlier than the national average of 8:03 a.m. Nationally, at least 200 schools have instituted later starting times.