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Information below and in this section was compiled in response to discussions about school start times from 2002-03.

Should school start times change?

Updates

• March 31, 2003 update: School Starting Times 
• March 12, 2003: High School Start Time Survey 
• November 11, 2002 Quarterly Update: School Starting Times
• April 16, 2002 update: School Board approves Superintendent's recommendation to retain current school start times.
• April 11, 2002 update: Superintendent recommends no change to school start times

Research indicates that high school students require an average of 9 hours of sleep per night and most do not feel sleepy until 11 pm (for biological, not behavioral reasons); middle school students have similar sleep requirements. Many districts have changed their school start times to better align the school day with older students’ most alert hours. At the request of parents and physicians, the Anchorage School District continues to evaluate the pros and cons of changing school starting times.

The district is aware that any schedule change will have far reaching implications for the community. A task force was formed to investigate the various options and public forums were held in February and March 2002 to outline these options and gather feedback. Community input was also gathered via the website and through a mass mailing to all families with children enrolled in ASD schools. Total opinions expressed through these two methods are shown in the table below.