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 Home > Local Chapters > PA - Statewide | PA Workshop ​

Welcome to Start School Later Pennsylvania!

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Pennsylvania is waking up!  

  • Pennsylvania has very active local chapters and many of our school districts have already or recently delayed their school start times.  
  • Please help yourself to the numerous resources you will find on our webpages and reach out to us if we can be of help in any way.
Contact Us

Let's Sleep Website and Tools

Let’s Sleep! is a joint initiative of Brigham & Women’s Hospital’s Division of Sleep & Circadian Disorders, led by Harvard Medical School’s sleep pioneer Dr. Charles Czeisler, and the nonprofit Healthy Hours, dedicated to promoting sleep health and raising public awareness about the relationship of sleep and developmentally appropriate school hours to physical, psychological, and educational well-being. ​

​This resource provides practical advice for teens to sleep and live better and includes resources for:
Students - CLICK HERE
Teachers - CLICK HERE
​Administrators - CLICK HERE
Parents - CLICK HERE
Webinars - (Archived & New) CLICK HERE
To get Let's Sleep news and updates - CLICK HERE

Health Smart Video: Study claims that later school start times benefit parents as well as children (Click below to watch video)

PA School Start Times Study Resolution Report
Sleep Deprivation in Adolescents: The Case for Delaying Secondary School Start Times 
​

The report is in response to Senate Resolution 417 of 2018 Sleep Deprivation in Adolescents: The Case for Delaying Secondary School Start Times. The Pennsylvania Senate unanimously approved the resolution and directed the Joint State Government Commission to establish an advisory committee to conduct a study of issues, benefits and options related to instituting a later start time to the school day in secondary schools. 
Click here to access PA Commission Report page

PA School Districts that Have
Changed School Hours

For a list of PA schools that have changed their hours, Click Here

PA School Districts Investigating
​Changing School Hours

For a list of PA schools that are investigating changing their hours, Click Here

School Start Time Workshop Draws Attendees from More Than 50 School Districts
With the growing awareness that sleep is critical to our health and well-being, and the medical community’s recommendation to delay school start times, the national Start School Later organization hosted two daylong workshops on the topic in southeastern PA, an area where there is strong interest and momentum among school districts and their communities to implement such changes. The November 13 workshop opened registration on August 17 and reached capacity in less than four weeks. Recognizing the level of interest, additional sponsors were secured to offer a second day on November 14.

“Adolescent Health and School Start Times: Science, Strategies, Tactics, and Logistics” drew more than 175 attendees, including superintendents, school administrators, parents, school board members, and health professionals representing over 50 school districts across 15 counties in Pennsylvania. Attendees from Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York also participated.

“Change is possible,” noted Phyllis Payne, Implementation Director, Start School Later (SSL). “Our workshops highlight success stories from local school districts and bring participants together to learn from one another, and to share solutions to potential logistical challenges districts face when shifting bell times. Starting middle and high schools after 8:30 a.m. provides substantial health and safety benefits to our teen students and is a public health best practice recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and others.” 
Click below to download full workshop story
workshop_press_release.pdf
File Size: 121 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


Adolescent Sleep Health Research Studies and Articles
FACT: Teens need about 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night to function best. Most teens do not get enough sleep — one study found that only 15% reported sleeping 8 1/2 hours on school nights. Biological sleep patterns shift toward later times for both sleeping and waking during adolescence -- meaning it is natural to not be able to fall asleep before 11:00 pm. (National Sleep Foundation - Teens and Sleep)
NOTE: Research featured has been used by school districts in Pennsylvania investigating sleep health and school start times

Click here to access PA research page

Student Sleep Survey Instrument Examples
Sleep researchers advise school districts to seriously consider administering a validated student sleep survey to their adolescent students for two important reasons.  One is to get a research documented assessment of the true state of sleep among their students. The second is to use that resulting data as a baseline measure against which to measure the effectiveness of any sleep interventions the school district initiates. ​
​Click here to access sleep survey instrument page

About our PA Chapters:

Along with a statewide chapter, Pennsylvania is home to nine local chapters and a student chapter:
Berks County 
Bucks County 
Chester County 
(Unionville HS Student Chapter) 
Delaware County 
Lower Merion 
Montgomery County 
Southeastern PA (RASNC) 
Phoenixville 
Western Region (Pittsburgh area)

California Dreams Fulfilled for Teens
Governor Newsom signs SB328, the school start time bill.
​Click here for SSL Press Release


SSL Pennsylvania! was founded by Gail Karafin, Ed.D., a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist in local practice in Doylestown and Bensalem for over 20 years. To contact Dr. Gail Karafin,  SSL PA Chapter Leader CLICK HERE .
​
Gail understands first-hand the impact of early school start times on the health of her current students and endured early school starts when her children were in high school.  Because she understands that the problem of early school start times has continued for over a generation, she understands that a statewide education campaign is essential for communities and schools to address this health problem.
Check out chapter leader Dr. Gail Karafin's 2-part article on TEEN SLEEP ISSUES AND SCHOOL START TIMES in THE PENNSYLVANIA PSYCHOLOGIST!  PART 1. PART 2.

    Contact SSL Pennsylvania

    If you'd like a call, please include your phone number. Please include any questions or ideas you may have.
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Website design made possible with a grant from the Rubinstein Family Foundation.

For Citations: A page on our website should be referenced as such:
Start School Later. (2022). Webpage Title. Retrieved [Month Day Year] from [URL]
e.g.,
Start School Later. (2022). What's the Big Deal? Retrieved January 3, 2022 from http://www.startschoollater.net/whats-the-big-deal.html
Start School Later, Inc. 
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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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