DEBATE: Which is preferred by students, a late start or early release?
By Jack Weggeland, Staff Writer
High schools throughout California provide an opportunity for their students to recharge their batteries in the middle of a long, grueling, burdensome week. At Riverside Poly, the administration has established minimum days—normal school days reduced by 58 minutes.
However, this topic does beg the question of how these minimum days are structured. Would students prefer to be released at 2:00 pm on Wednesdays, or start later, beginning their first period class at 9:00 am? On the Riverside Poly campus fifty students were randomly selected to provide their answer and opinion on the subject. When recorded, twenty three students answered that a Wednesday late start would be more beneficial while twenty seven students are satisfied by the current situation of an early release day.
“I would sacrifice the extra sleep that the late start would provide in order to be more productive in regards to my schoolwork before my many afterschool activities,” Maxelle Bernie (10) expressed. Many students enjoy the current Wednesday early release schedule because it allows them to regain their energy before sports practices and games as well as provides an opportunity to spend more time on their abundant homework. Outside of school and extracurricular activities , it allows students to enjoy a lunch with friends or catch up on much needed rest.
In addition, Curran Anderson (12) stated, “I prefer getting out of school earlier in the day than beginning my classes later because by having a different morning bell schedule, it would disrupt up my current sleep cycle. I like waking up everyday at the same time, as opposed to waking up at different times.”
Although early release was popular among the Poly community, statistics show that during a late-start day, there were several significant increases in attendance and a large decrease in tardiness. The College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota conducted research in South Washington County, Minnesota, and Mahtomedi, districts that schedule late-start days. The general results of the core courses (mathematics, science, social studies, or English) reveal statistically significant increases in GPA for all students in five of the six high schools/districts examined.
An early start does provide an opportunity to catch up on an extra hour of rest in the middle of the school week; however, it is a subjective opinion among the Poly community.
With regard to the academic aspect, students who preferred a late start argued that the extra hour before school provides valuable time to wake up and prepare one’s mental state before walking into the classroom.
No matter the thoughts or opinions, whether the Poly students prefer a late start or the current minimum day, we enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to receive extra gas to refuel the tank during difficult and demanding school weeks.