The student body of Chatham High School in New Jersey can enjoy an extra 15 minutes of sleep - with no guilt or consequence. Starting today, classes will begin at 7:45 a.m., reports the Daily Record.
This is part of an ongoing scheduling experiment, which will last until the end of the school year. Recent biological research states that the earlier an adolescent starts their day the worse they perform both physically and mentally.
The new schedule will allow for “a more efficient use of the time available to us,” school officials, Darren Groh and Michael LaSusa wrote in a letter to parents, reports the Record.
Some students and parents said the new start time will not benefit students who take the bus. However, the library-media center will be open early and the cafeteria will open at 7 a.m., which will keep the students busy before classes.
Homeroom will be eliminated and lunch will be shortened by nine minutes. Seniors aren’t very excited about the shortened lunch. They will lose time from their off campus lunch breaks.
Other students are excited about the scheduling adjustment.
“I’m actually going to like it," Matt Reader, a junior, said to the Record. "They told us not to think about it as 15 minutes a day, but as an hour and 15 minutes a week.”
