What’s on the minds of the students at Bromfield? The Press asks students at the school to weigh in on a variety of topics.

This month: What is your opinion on school start time? Do you think that a later start to the school day would be beneficial to students?

Kristina Kronauer. (Photos by Emily Jones)

Kristina Kronauer, junior
“Although students benefit from sleeping later (morning hours), I feel that the average Bromfield student has a very busy schedule and they will not get more sleep from a later start time. Instead, the daily schedule will only be pushed later by a few hours. For example, instead of finishing sports at 4 p.m. and going to bed at 11, a student may get out of sports at 6 p.m. and go to bed at 1 a.m.”

Milana Abidor, sophomore
“It would be a terrible idea to start the school day later. We would be too tired later in the day to do homework and a lot of people would have to be early anyway because their parents have work and drop them off at school before they leave, which is very early.”

Clark Jacobson, sophomore
“I do not think the later school day would be beneficial. The later end time of school would interfere with students’ homework time, sports time, jobs, and family time. If we need more sleep, we should just go to bed earlier. Anyways, having little sleep during high school is part of the Bromfield culture. I have countless friends who are into the habit of getting six hours of sleep or less and feel fine the day after.”

Liz Frothingham (left) and Elizabeth Douglas.

Elizabeth Douglas, junior
“I think that an earlier school start time would have a greater negative impact on students than a positive impact. We wouldn’t get any more sleep as we would have to stay up later. In addition, those students with activities outside of school would struggle to fit them in.”

Liz Frothingham, junior
“Not being a sporty person, yes, it would be beneficial for me. I like the idea of having a little more morning time. However, I know the cons for those with after-school obligations are numerous. Keeping the peace is preferable to an hour’s worth of Z’s.”

Megan Vilcans, sophomore
“I feel that if the start time was changed to a later time, it would only harm students. This creates a difficulty for students with parents who work, who either live in different towns or don’t take the bus. Also, students who have jobs after school would have to go late. Along with this, if students get out late then they are also up longer doing homework and will still be tired in the morning.”

Jake Reed.

Jake Reed, sophomore
“I don’t think that the school start time is awful, but if it started up an hour later, it would be beneficial to everybody. Teachers often spend long nights grading or preparing and could use the extra sleep, as could busy students.”

Jeff Messina, junior
“The school start time needs to stay the same because making it later will interfere with athletics and homework time. If it is made later, reduction of homework will be needed because if we are expected to sleep during this time, the overall homework time will diminish.”

Russell Phelan.

Russell Phelan, junior
“The benefits of a later start time are obvious. Even if kids stay up later, the shifted sleep cycle should improve student performance and health. The issue, however, is our students’ crowded schedules. Many have activities that cannot be moved after school. The shift in sports practices would wreck havoc on students’ already hectic schedules. Because of this, the later start time simply isn’t a viable solution.”