education committee and supplemental regular meeting · 10/16/2017 · • attended by dr....

Education Committee and Supplemental Regular Meeting

October 16, 2017

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Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times An All Forward R&D Committee Update

Presented by Kristina Ayers Paul, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)

Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Program Evaluation

as an overview of the information contained in“Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times: A Committee Status

Report and Information Brief for the LMSD Community” Available at www.lmsd.org/all-forward/R&D

October 16, 2017 Education Meeting Lower Merion Board of School Directors

http://www.lmsd.org/all-forward/R&D

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Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times R&D Committee Update

Section 1: The Committee


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Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times Section 1: The Committee

Five Meetings from December 2016 to October 2017.

Committee MembersKristina Ayers Paul (Chair) Special Assistant to the Superintendent for Program EvaluationKaren Castaneda Director of Nutritional ServicesVeronica Ellers Principal, Gladwyne ES Thomas Ferguson Harriton HS Athletics & Activities DirectorJeff Hunter Assistant Principal, BCMS Scott Kilpatrick Assistant Principal, Lower Merion HS Mark Klein Interim Director of Human ResourcesTerry Quinlan Lead Supervisor of Student Health and School SafetyMegan Shafer Senior Director of Policy, Personnel, and School ProgramsUldis Vilcins Supervisor of TransportationDon Walsh Lower Merion HS Athletics & Activities DirectorDennis Witt Supervisor of Safety, Security & Custodians


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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesSection 1: The Committee

Our Activities/Information Gathering• Review of documents and resources from the Interschool Council’s Sleep and School Start

Time Committee

• Review of Academic Research and Grey Literature

• Collection of information based on other schools’ experiences

• Collection of LMSD Context Data, including transportation, athletic schedules, regional comparisons of school bell schedules, administrative perspectives on the implications of new daily schedules, facilities use by outside organizations, and capital improvements (e.g. lighting on Arnold Field, driveways and traffic flow structures).

• Development of the Adolescent Sleep and School Start Time Info Brief for LMSD.


http://www.lmsd.org/community/parents/isc/sleep-school

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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesSection 1: The Committee

Conference Attendance• Adolescent Sleep, Health, and School Start Times: The National Conference (April 27-28,

2017), Washington, DC

• Attended by Dr. Kristina Ayers Paul, Committee Chair, as well as many area school district administrators and board members

• Sponsored by: • Yale School of Medicine – Department of Pediatrics, • Yale School of Medicine – Section on Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, • The RAND Corporation, • The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and • Start School Later Inc.


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Section 2: The Landscape


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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesThe Landscape

The Sleep Research…Confirms that adolescents are hard-wired with circadian rhythms that induce sleepiness about 2 hours later in the evening than children or adults, making it difficult to fall asleep before 11 pm.

Chronic sleep loss in adolescents is linked to:• Increased risk of obesity, decreased physical activity, and increased food

intake• Poor mental health, including depression and suicidal ideation• Increase in at-risk behaviors, such as drug and alcohol use and

bullying/violence toward others• Increased injuries and motor vehicle accidents• Daytime sleepiness and difficulty paying attention


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Position Statements from Leading Medical Associations…including the American Academy of Pediatric, American Medical Association, and the Center for Disease Control advocate for middle and high school start times that begin no earlier than 8:30 am., largely based on sleep research linking chronic sleep loss in adolescents to detrimental outcomes on their physical health, mental health, and safety.

Healthy People 2020 Initiative www.healthypeople.gov

• A national initiative from the federal Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion to “guide disease prevention and health promotion efforts to improve the health of all Americans.”

• One of the 42 goals for 2020 is focused on Sleep Health (a new goal since Healthy People 2010), with one of the objectives focused on adolescents:

• “Increase the proportion of students in grades 9 through 12 who get sufficient sleep.”• According to the CDC, about 30% of high school students get enough sleep, defined as 8 or more hours,

on a school night.


http://www.healthypeople.gov)/

https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/sleep-health

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Start School Later Inc. A national advocacy group promoting healthy school start times for adolescents. This organization co-sponsored the national conference attended by the committee chair and provides many resources for advocates of healthy school start times. www.startschoollater.net/

Start School Later Research Wiki: A comprehensive listing of published research related to sleep and school start times.

Regional Adolescent Sleep Needs Coalition (RASNC)A local, regional group of parents, school board members, and school administrators from many surrounding school districts that meet monthly in Radnor to discuss activities and efforts related to their common interest in adolescent sleep and healthy school start times. www.facebook.com/Regional-Adolescent-Sleep-Needs-Coalition-882518711854657/


http://www.startschoollater.net/

http://startschoollater.pbworks.com/w/page/58217472/Start%20School%20Later%20Reference%20List

https://www.facebook.com/Regional-Adolescent-Sleep-Needs-Coalition-882518711854657/

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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesThe LandscapeWhen examining research to support educational policy decisions, consider the following: • Meta-Analyses and Critical Reviews of Literature are especially

valuable for determining generalizable conclusions from a range of studies. These are systematic research studies about what the body of published research has revealed.

• Research design matters. By understanding research design, we keep the causes, the correlates, and the confounds of student outcomes in check.

• Guiding questions for reviewing a research study or report: • Is the article or report peer reviewed? • Who is/are the author/s? What is their affiliation? • Was the research funded? If so, by whom? • Where was the study published? Journal reputation? Impact factor? Organizational

affiliation? • What methodology was used and what methodological limitations should be

considered during interpretation?

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Research on Sleep and School Start TimesKey Study 1 – Critical Review of Literature with Meta-Analysis

High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn

Authored by: Morgenthaler, Hashmi, Croft, Dort, Heald, & Mullington (2016) On behalf of: National Healthy Sleep Awareness Project, an initiative cosponsored by:

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)• American Academy of Sleep Medicine • Sleep Research Society

Published in: Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine http://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6358


http://doi.org/10.5664/jcsm.6358

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High School Start Times and the Impact on High School Students: What We Know, and What We Hope to Learn

(Morgenthaler et al., 2016)

18 studies met inclusion criteria, eight of which could be included in meta-analyses.

Concluded there is adequate evidence to suggest that delayed school start times, particularly in cases where there is a 60 minute or more delay, are associated with:

• Longer weekday sleep duration• Lower weekday-weeknight sleep duration differences• Reduced vehicular accident rates, and • Reduced subjective daytime sleepiness.

Reported there is not enough evidence to conclude that academic performance or incidences of behavioral issues were affected by later school start times.


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Research on Sleep and School Start Times: Key Study 2 – Critical Review of Literature

School Start Times, Sleep, Behavioral, Health, and Academic Outcomes:

A Review of the Literature

Authored by: Wheaton, Chapman, & Croft (2016)Affiliated with: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Published in: Journal of School Health (Volume 86, Edition 5, pp. 363-381)Available through HHS Public Access: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4824552/


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4824552/

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School Start Times, Sleep, Behavioral, Health, and Academic Outcomes: A Review of the Literature

(Wheaton, Chapman, & Croft, 2016)


38 studies included in review of literature that examined the association between school start times, sleep, and other outcomes among adolescent students.

Later school start times correspond to: • longer weeknight sleep duration*• improved attendance• less tardiness• less falling asleep in class, • fewer motor vehicle crashes*, and • better academic performance, ”although the association may be relatively weak

and not universal” (p. 7).

*Also reported by Morgenthaler et al. (2016)


Strategies Other Districts Have Used when Shifting Bell Times • Lead time (10-12 months) is important for giving the community an opportunity

to prepare for changes to bell schedules.

• Consider hiring a consultant skilled in facilitating organizational change and community engagement.

• Exhaust all transportation scenarios until a small handful of acceptable proposals are identified.

• Consider creative solutions to problems that affect sleep health, such as reducing homework requirements, reducing the length of athletic practices and afterschool activities, introducing online learning options during first period, and adding an additional tier to the the schedule (e.g. two start times for elementary schools) to make efficient use of the bus fleet.

October 16, 2017 Education Meeting Lower Merion Board of School Directors 15

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Lessons Learned about Preparing for Unexpected Challenges The experiences of other school districts demonstrate that, even with the best planning, there will be unanticipated and unintended consequences, which serves as a warning to be prepared to engage in creative problem solving.

A few examples from Districts who have made bell schedule changes:

• Bus ridership increases (Greenwich, CT)

• Length of commute time on buses longer due to new traffic patterns (Greenwich, CT; Montgomery County, MD)

• Elementary students too tired at the end of a day that started and ended later (Montgomery County, MD)

• Parents dropping off young students at school early in order to get to work on time (Montgomery County, MD)

• Increased cost of partial-day substitutes to cover classes for high school teachers who had to leave early for out-of-District athletic events operating on an earlier schedule (Little Elm, TX)


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Section 3: The LMSD Context


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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesWhat are the key factors in LMSD?

Transportation• 3-tier busing system with most buses at maximum capacity

• LMSD transports students to about 120 public, private, and independent schools each day.

• Private school shuttle system that operates during the first tier

• Limited possibilities for parking, bus staging, and private school transfer

Athletics and Extra-Curricular Activities• LMSD belongs to the Central League, which operates on a schedule that accommodates

current (early school day schedules; A later high school start time would increase the number of instructional minutes lost by athletes attending events outside of the District.

• Shared spaces require practice and meeting schedules that extend late into the evening hours. New spaces would need to be located and/or the length of time of practices, rehearsals, and extracurricular meetings would would need to be shortened.

• Outdoor athletics events would require lighting during the evening hours. Arnold Fielddoes not accommodate events held in darkness, nor do our baseball and softball fields.


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Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesWhat are the key factors in LMSD?

Traffic Traffic in our community is heavily congested, and any change to bell schedules would have a significant impact on the traffic experience of our educational community, as well as community members who commute from or through the District.

Childcare and Other Family Arrangements• Childcare is frequently cited as a major obstacle for families who are adjusting to new bell

schedules, particularly for families that rely on older siblings to care for younger siblings in the afternoon and evening hours.

• MELC is a major provider of before and after school care within our District, and we would need to work in close collaboration with them to ensure that families would be supported through any transition that might occur.

Student DriversTraffic accidents among students who are driving while drowsy is a public health and safety concern. About 350 student drivers – 100 at LM and 250 at HH – have been given parking permits for the 2017-2018 academic year.


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Section 4: Recommended Next Steps


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Set 1: Transportation, Traffic, and Capital Improvement StudiesInvestigate the upfront and annual cost of new transportation system scenarios, as well as the impact those scenarios would have on traffic patterns and needs for capital improvements.

Suggested Parameters: 1. Consider investigating changing the length of the school day so that elementary,

middle, and high school days are consistent in length.

2. Consider scenarios that would account for any changes to school attendance boundaries that the District may be considering.

3. Consider multiple creative scenarios. Other school districts report generating about 20 different scenarios before finding the ”sweet spot.”

4. While shifting from a 3-tier system to a 2-tier system is not likely to yield cost benefits, consider a 4-tier system in which elementary schools operate on two different schedules.

Adolescent Sleep and School Start TimesR & D Committee Recommendations


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Suggested Parameters (cont.): 5. Consider the implications of transporting K-12 private school students during Tier 1, which currently transports our high school students. Any change in bell schedules would place LMSD elementary or middle school students on the bus with private school high school students.

Traffic StudyWhile it is hard to determine how traffic patterns would adjust to different bell schedule scenarios, it is important to have baseline data on the ebb and flow of traffic around our schools during commuting hours. Also consider that bus commutes for students may become longer or shorter depending on new timing and general traffic pattern changes in the community as a result of new bell schedules.

Assessment of Capital Improvements NeededAdditionally, the feasibility and cost of improvements necessary for upgrading facilities for bus staging, parking, and transfer depots as well as the cost of improvements to athletic fields that would require lighting for events held in darkness.



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Set 2: Community Engagement Provide and gather information to generate meaningful dialogue around adolescent sleep health.

Goals1. Educate the community on the science of sleep in children and adolescents, the

effects of sleep deprivation, strategies for promoting healthy sleep habits, and key factors related to the feasibility of changing school start times in LMSD.

2. Assess the potential impacts that new start times would have on families in regard to childcare arrangements, part-time jobs, extracurricular activities sponsored and not sponsored by the District, and any other impact not previously considered by the Adolescent Sleep and School Start Time Committee.



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Key Strategies for Community Engagement1. Focus Groups (November-January, 2017): Hold focus groups with stratified random

samples of parents and students to (a) engage in in-depth discussion of the information from the Sleep and School Start Time Info Brief, and (b) guide the creation of a community input survey to administered later in the year.

2. Gather Baseline Data (November-January, 2017): As recommended by Wheaton et al. (2016), gather baseline data on key metrics such as student sleep characteristics, falling asleep during class, daytime drowsiness, motor vehicle accidents among our students, and other key metrics recommended in the literature.

3. Possible Community Outreach and Survey (TBD): Consider strategies for working with the ISC to distribute the Adolescent Sleep and School Start Time Info Brief and invite families to participate in a survey to assess the potential impacts (positive, negative, and neutral) that different school start times would have on families.

4. Community Seminar/Panel Discussion (TBD): Host a community event as part of the LMSD Department of Health Services’ Community Seminar Series, in which we invite expert members of the LMSD community to participate in a panel discussion addressing the topic: “Sleep Health: What Families Need to Know to Promote Healthy Sleep Habits at Home.”



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Set 3: Reconsider Existing Policies and PracticesHomework and extracurricular activities, along with an early start time, were described by many students as interfering with getting enough sleep at night (ISC Student Sleep Survey, 2015).

1. Homework Policies and Practices: • Provide guidelines that teachers can use to guide their assignment of group work

outside of school hours. • Avoid submission deadlines that occur after 9pm (as opposed to 11:59 PM). • Coordinate a homework, project, and exam schedule that reduces the amount of

overlap students have with due dates.

2. Extracurricular Policies and Practices: • It is recommended that there be 10-11 hours between the end of an official

school function and the beginning of the next school day. • Consider reducing the length of athletic practices and extracurricular meetings.



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Questions?

For a detailed report of the information from this presentation, please see:

“Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times: A Committee Status Report and Information Brief for the LMSD Community”

Available at www.lmsd.org/all-forward/R&D


http://www.lmsd.org/all-forward/R&D

education committee and supplemental regular meeting · 10/16/2017 · • attended by dr....

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