Beginning in 2015, thanks to the SLEEP proposal (Start Later for Excellence in Education Proposal), Fairfax County Public Schools will be moving their start times back 30 minutes. High School start times will be between 8:00AM and 8:10AM, and Middle Schools will now begin at 7:30AM, while Elementary start times will remain the same.
The purpose of this initiative is to allow students to get more rest, thus enhancing their educational experience and ability to retain what they’ve learned throughout the day, and also to simply promote better mental and physical health of the students. According to Sheree Brown Kaplan of the Fairfax Alliance for Appropriate School Education, “An insufficient sleep can exacerbate certain mental illnesses like bipolar disorders and anxiety disorders, leading to higher rates of problem behavior in school, loss in structural time and academic failure.”
While some teachers will still have to wake up even earlier to fight traffic if they don’t live within Fairfax County and stay at work later, it’s agreed among most that this proposal is a step in the right direction for the benefit of the students across the county.
For more information regarding the SLEEP initiative, visit the Fairfax County Public Schools website here, and the official SLEEP website here.
