Welcome to Start School Later - Missoula, MT!
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What's The Big Deal?
This page is for anyone interested in re-igniting the idea of changing Missoula urban-area high school start times to later than 8:30 a.m., allowing our teens to get the sleep they need to succeed. Support Missoula County Public Schools and the Board of Trustees as they explore ways to support our children's need for sleep as they learn and grow. Contact MCPB School Board Members to voice your opinion, and be sure to sign our local and national petitions. In January 2018, the School Superintendent reported the results of a transportation study to the MCPS Board of Trustees. Despite some challenges to establishing healthy school start times, MCPS school administrators remain committed to finding a solution. To learn more, listen to a January 29, 2018, KGVO interview on Talk Back Live with Superintendent Thane.
SURPRISING REASONS YOUR DISTRICT CAN AFFORD TO START SCHOOL LATER
WHY DOES SCHOOL START SO EARLY? WHAT LOSING SLEEP DOES TO YOUR MIND
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Sign Our Local Petition
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On May 9, 2017, the Missoula County Public Schools board of trustees voted in favor of exploring a later start time for students in Missoula's three urban area high schools: Big Sky High School, Hellgate High School, and Sentinel High School.
After consideration of public testimony and the School Day Study Committee white paper, the board concluded that the change could have significant health benefits for MCPS high school students. If you want to make your voice heard, check out the local change.org petition (at right). Learn the facts, stay connected, sign and share! |
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Most urban area high schools in Missoula start before 8:00 a.m., and in some cases starts as early as 7:00. Given the distances some children have to bus, some children are on school buses for up to 45 minutes or an hour. Evidence shows that school start times for young people before 8:30 a.m. can result in a long list of mental and physical ailments, safety hazards, and decreased academic performance. Learn more about health, safety, learning, equity and economic benefits associated with delaying school day start times.
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Studies have documented that adolescents are not getting the recommended nine hours of sleep they need, with nearly 66% getting less than eight hours and nearly 40% getting less than six hours of sleep per night. The result is “chronically sleep-deprived and pathologically sleepy adolescents.” Shifting school start times later does not result in later bedtimes, and as a result students obtain additional sleep on school nights. Students who get more sleep show improvements in areas of memory, attention, and emotional regulation. Athletes who sleep more perform better and are 68% less likely to be injured than athletes that regularly slept less.
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Start School Later is thrilled to have Missoula, MT, as the 53rd chapter and the first one in Montana. We owe it to our children to establish safe, healthy, and humane school start times.
Hundreds of schools in 44 states in the US have instated later school start times and have found affordable, feasible ways to do so. These schools report benefits to physical and mental health, learning, attendance, graduation rates, car crashes, and overall student well-being.
To connect with Jennie Dixon and the Missoula, MT, chapter of Start School Later, fill out the form on this page or contact us by leaving a message on our Facebook page.
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