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Welcome to Start School Later Southern Maine!

We are a coalition of doctors, parents and educators throughout York and Cumberland counties advocating for healthier school start times for our middle and high school students.  On April 30, 2016, the communities of Biddeford, Dayton, Saco and Thornton Academy and RSU#23 (Old Orchard Beach) became the first in the state to comply with the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended 8:30 AM start time for middle and high school students. This was an historic win for Southern Maine and more communities are now exploring a similar change.
Southern Maine communities considering Later Start Times: Scarborough, South Portland (moved to 8:00 AM), Kittery, Berwick, and Gorham.  Don't see your district?  Email us!

Why a Regional Approach?

​Shared regional technology centers and athletic calendars require cooperation across municipal borders.  After working with local and state education leaders to facilitate this change, school administrators and education associations voiced a collective desire to tackle this issue at a regional level. Today, over 30 Maine pediatric, sports medicine, and family medicine practitioners have enthusiastically endorsed later start times that are in sync with the recommended 8:30 AM or later start times endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Regional News

Case Study:  How Biddeford/Saco Made the change to healthier start times
​
By Dr. Joan Pelletier & Tracey Collins

​Nine hours of sleep can be a game-changer for student-athletes
Oct 21, 2015 ... By Lucien R. Ouellette Special to the Press Herald. Share ... Lucien R. Ouellette, M.D., a Saco-based pediatrician and sports medicine-trained ...
www.pressherald.com/.../maine-voices-nine-hours-of-sleep-can-be-a-game- changer-for-student-athletes/
School districts mull later start times Journal Tribune 2015-10-26 / Front Page ....About 70 people representing 14 districts from the two counties attended an Oct. 15 meeting at People’s Choice Credit Union in Saco to learn about the science supporting later school start times and to discuss the idea, Ray said last week  “The science that is out there is pretty indisputable around the fact that adolescents, middle and high school kids ... shouldn’t start before 8:30 (a.m.),” he said. “The science says it puts kids at risk for certain health hazards later in life.”
​
​Some Maine schools making start times a little later - The Portland ...
Sep 13, 2015 ... Portland schools have considered later start times as well, and the schoolboard nixed a proposal to start high school 15 minutes earlier, ...
www.pressherald.com/.../some-maine-schools-pushing-back-start-times/

Watch Saco/Biddeford school pediatrician presentation on teen sleep and Late Start


Picture
​Later start times for middle and high schools gaining momentum in ...
Oct 17, 2015 ... Shifting middle and high school start times to later in the morning as a way to improve student health appears to be gaining momentum in ...
www.pressherald.com/.../later-school-start-times-for-middle-and-high-school- gaining-momentum-in-southern-maine/

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Read why 17 sports medicine docs think athletes will be biggest winners in late start

​What time does your school start? 

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Start School Later, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to healthy, safe, equitable school hours. 
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