Community Guidance Program
Helping Community Leaders Ensure Sleep-Friendly School Schedules
For Chapter Leaders, Parents, Students, and Other Community Advocates
The evidence is clear: starting middle and high schools at times allowing for sufficient sleep is essential for student health, safety, and performance. However, achieving necessary consensus for change among school officials and staff, parents, coaches, transportation directors, and wider communities and figuring out how to make change happen often means overcoming major hurdles that put the well-being of adolescents at risk.
Nevertheless, numerous school districts, and even the entire state of California, have found feasible, affordable ways to schedule classes at safer, healthier hours.
We support advocacy and awareness-raising efforts of community advocates working to ensure healthy school start times by:
We are also committed to empowering our volunteer-led chapters to lead successful initiatives for achieving and protecting sleep-friendly school start times in their communities. Our program focuses on equipping each chapter leader with essential tools, strategies, and experts, and offers guidance to assist your efforts wherever feasible, as well as facilitating connections between chapters who can share resources and lessons learned. Conversations often revolve around:
Nevertheless, numerous school districts, and even the entire state of California, have found feasible, affordable ways to schedule classes at safer, healthier hours.
We support advocacy and awareness-raising efforts of community advocates working to ensure healthy school start times by:
- connecting advocates to subject-matter experts and resources
- offering webinars, workshops, and conferences on subjects such as adolescent sleep health, advocacy tactics and strategies, legislation, and implementation
We are also committed to empowering our volunteer-led chapters to lead successful initiatives for achieving and protecting sleep-friendly school start times in their communities. Our program focuses on equipping each chapter leader with essential tools, strategies, and experts, and offers guidance to assist your efforts wherever feasible, as well as facilitating connections between chapters who can share resources and lessons learned. Conversations often revolve around:
- educating school stakeholders about sleep health and the need to start school later
- advocating for policies to change school start times
- navigating perceived obstacles and politics of changing school times
- providing resources, including videos, digital media, flyers, presentations, letters of support, and subject-matter experts
Our Impact
We've proudly supported hundreds of schools nationwide in realizing healthier start times.
“I want to thank you for all the assistance and guidance you have provided. The going has been hard, but having expertise, encouragement, and access to data made it possible for our local core to be much more effective than we would have been on our own." - Cindy Jatul, Chapter Leader (Seattle)
"The SSL group is largely responsible for the successful outcome. I am VERY happy for our teenagers!!" — Melissa Stern Meredith, parent, North Olmsted, Ohio
"You have been a tremendous resource to us. We've made more progress in a year than ever would have been possible had it not been for SSL and those who have fought before us!"—Judy Solan, Chapter Leader, Williamson County, TN
“I want to thank you for all the assistance and guidance you have provided. The going has been hard, but having expertise, encouragement, and access to data made it possible for our local core to be much more effective than we would have been on our own." - Cindy Jatul, Chapter Leader (Seattle)
"The SSL group is largely responsible for the successful outcome. I am VERY happy for our teenagers!!" — Melissa Stern Meredith, parent, North Olmsted, Ohio
"You have been a tremendous resource to us. We've made more progress in a year than ever would have been possible had it not been for SSL and those who have fought before us!"—Judy Solan, Chapter Leader, Williamson County, TN
Meet Your Guides
Terra Ziporyn Snider, PhD
Executive Director, Co-Founder
A long-time education advocate, award-winning author, and seasoned science writer and communicator, Terra has been helping community and school leaders around the USA and beyond find feasible ways to delay school start times for over two decades. With a doctorate in the history of science and medicine and experience as an associate editor at JAMA, she possesses a deep understanding of the practical aspects of turning the science of adolescent health into school policy. Her dedication to this cause was recognized with the Sleep Research Society's 2022 Public Service Award.
Phyllis Payne, MPH
Implementation Director
A co-founder of SLEEP in Fairfax, Phyllis has a strong background in school implementation, community health education and outreach, successfully advocating for healthy school start times. Phyllis is also an experienced science writer, adept at creating plain language materials for organizations like NIH on topics including sleep and chronic diseases.
Andra Williams Broadwater
Chapter Director
Andra is an award-winning educator advocate with expertise in education policy and data. She launched the Baltimore City chapter of Start School Later in 2014 and has worked on state-level legislation in Maryland. A member of the Baltimore County PTA Council, Andra has published resources under contracts with the U.S. Department of Education and received publication awards from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Executive Director, Co-Founder
A long-time education advocate, award-winning author, and seasoned science writer and communicator, Terra has been helping community and school leaders around the USA and beyond find feasible ways to delay school start times for over two decades. With a doctorate in the history of science and medicine and experience as an associate editor at JAMA, she possesses a deep understanding of the practical aspects of turning the science of adolescent health into school policy. Her dedication to this cause was recognized with the Sleep Research Society's 2022 Public Service Award.
Phyllis Payne, MPH
Implementation Director
A co-founder of SLEEP in Fairfax, Phyllis has a strong background in school implementation, community health education and outreach, successfully advocating for healthy school start times. Phyllis is also an experienced science writer, adept at creating plain language materials for organizations like NIH on topics including sleep and chronic diseases.
Andra Williams Broadwater
Chapter Director
Andra is an award-winning educator advocate with expertise in education policy and data. She launched the Baltimore City chapter of Start School Later in 2014 and has worked on state-level legislation in Maryland. A member of the Baltimore County PTA Council, Andra has published resources under contracts with the U.S. Department of Education and received publication awards from the American Educational Research Association (AERA).
Ready to Connect?
If you're looking for support and advice to help you pass later school start times in your area, please reach out to Phyllis.
To start or join a chapter, please reach out to our Chapter Director Andra Williams Broadwater.
To start or join a chapter, please reach out to our Chapter Director Andra Williams Broadwater.