Tuesday through Friday every week, Eastmont staff and students have to wake up early to be on time and in class by 7:45 am. Many debates have developed about this schedule.
Mrs. Medrano, an English teacher here at Eastmont, commented on the bell schedule.
¨I believe a later start time would benefit our high school students. The last district I worked for, Quincy, moved the start time to 8:25 and the results on learning were fantastic.¨
A few other districts in the area, such as Cashmere High School and Cascade High School start the day at 8:00 am. Additionally, across the river at Wenatchee High School, they have about an hour difference, starting at 8:40 am and ending at 3:25 pm.
Sophomore Sophia Hughes answered, “ I would like a later start time, so I have more time to get ready and more sleep. The later start would not affect anything outside of school, so I would prefer changing the time.”
Mrs Paus, a Social Studies teacher here at EHS, responded: “I love getting out of school early so there is time to do things in the afternoon and I know it is important for students to get out of school early so they can work. However, I believe it would be in the best interest of the student body at EHS to have a later start time. Studies support that high school students need more time to sleep in.”
Many students have a hard time learning so early in the morning, and teachers have a hard time trying to teach them, so a later start time would definitely contribute to an easier school year.
Kevin Fenton, another English teacher, responded,“I think it would be wonderful to start our day later as I believe high school students would benefit from being able to sleep in later (especially zero-period students). I also think this would allow the older students time to drop off their younger siblings at the other schools in our district. I think the biggest impact on life outside of school would be students who also work. It’s beneficial for students to get to work as soon as possible after school, but many jobs that employ students from EHS also employ students from WHS, and we have different start/end times. In the end, I think everything would work out fine if EHS started later.”
The majority of interviewed staff and students were in favor of changing the school start time, although Samuel Wester had an opposing opinion: ¨I prefer to keep it the same because if we had it later we would have to stay at the school later, and that does not work with my schedule. It’s hard to have a job if we stay at school late.¨
Eastmont ends school at 2:30 pm, making it a better schedule for those with after school commitments. Many students have after school activities or jobs, so a later start time to the day makes it more difficult for them to have a life outside of school.
