Welcome to Start School Later Barrington, RI!

---

Like us on Facebook

Sign the Barrington Petition

Sign Our National Petition

Welcome to Start School Later Barrington, RI, Start School Later's 66th local chapter and its third in Rhode Island.

The Barrington School Committee has been actively exploring the issue of school start times since 2011.  In January 2016, the School Committee voted to shift the high school from a 7:40 a.m. start to an 8:30 a.m. start for the 2016-2017 school year.  Unfortunately, in March of 2016, the School Committee voted to postpone implementation of later start times until the 2017-2018 school year.

The Barrington RI chapter is committed to supporting our School Committee's implementation of safe and healthy start times for our students beginning in the fall of 2017.

Get up to speed on the issue via KidsFirst Barrington.

Check out common Myths and Misconceptions.

​To connect with our Barrington, RI chapter, like our Facebook page or fill out the contact form on this page.

School Start Time
​Ad Hoc Advisory Committee

The SST Ad Hoc Committee has been meeting regularly to address concerns and find solutions to challenges presented by the shifting of school start times.  Please continue your vigilant support of later school start times by keeping the School Committee and the Superintendent of BPS mindful of your support for later school starts for our middle and high school students.

Please encourage the School Committee to continue sharing information with the community in support of the implementation of later start times.  The tab on the BPS website continues to be updated with great information. http://www3.barringtonschools.org/businessoffice/Pages/starttime.aspx

Click on the button below to send an email to our School Committee Members, the Superintendent, the candidates for School Committee, letting them know that you support safe and healthy school start times.  (Note that a copy of your email will also be sent to SSL - Barrington's administrator.) 

Click Here to Email the Barrington School Committee Members and the Superintendent. Please amend the text as you wish.

Gmail Users: click here to set Gmail as your default email​​

---

​

"To the editor: Dear members of the School Committee, as you know there has been much discussion in our community about school start times. There have been a number of recent recommendations by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control recommending that school start times be moved up. The most recent recommendations are for an 8:30 or later start time for all middle and high school students.

These are well studied recommendations that have been implemented in a number of communities with significant improvements in academics and adolescent health.

It is well documented that the adolescent brain needs sleep to function well and is wired to go to bed late and get up late. This is the circadian rhythm of adolescents. When we interfere with this natural rhythm we see decreased grades, increased anxiety, increased depression, higher rates of injury, obesity, increased use of drugs and alcohol use as well as many other negative outcomes.

There are many issues that make these decisions complicated in our community including busing, sports, clubs, work schedules, and teacher’s schedules, to name a few.

Many years ago when many of us were young there were no such things as helmets, seat belts, sunscreen, and safety equipment. These have now been studied and we know that they are worthwhile. They are now standard recommendations.

Change is often a difficult thing, but many communities have successfully made the change. It is in the best interest of our children to have later start times for middle and high school. East Bay Pediatrics fully supports the AAP and CDC recommendations for a later school start time and urge the school committee to change the start time to 8:30 a.m.

Sincerely,
​
Marcolino Ferretti, MD
Jane Dennison, MD
Angela Grenander, MD
Melissa Curran, MSN, cPNP
​East Bay Pediatrics, Barrington"