Waking up early in the morning is hard for some students, making it difficult to function during school hours. Some wonder if this would change if high school started later than 7:20am. 

     Junior Jenessy Mejia said, “I go to sleep at 10 pm and still wake up very exhausted.” Freshman Issaac Mejia goes to sleep at 12 and wakes up tired and with low energy. On the other hand, sophomore Joushua Lopez sleeps at 12 and wakes up feeling good saying he is a “morning person.”  

     Some students may have to wake up early due to the distance from school and the time that they take to get ready. Although senior James Loe gets ready in 10 minutes, he lives 37 minutes away from school. He says, “It is a struggle for me and my mom, who takes and picks me up from school. A lot of people tell me to move closer, but I am really attracted to Miami High and moving closer is harder because it is hard to find a place to live.”  

   On the other hand, for students like junior Nycole Calidonio, who lives 5 minutes from school and gets ready in 25 minutes, it is easy for her to get to school on time and even wake up less early than others. 

     Sometimes students even struggle with transportation. Freshmen Alicia Lopez said, “My mom takes me to school but sometimes she struggles waking up early and I have to walk to school.” Alicia adds that even when her mom does take her to school they come across a lot of traffic.  Senior Alley Morales agrees, “I drive to school so really what gets in my way is traffic.” 

   There is no agreement if students would benefit by changing school start times. Junior Anthonie See says, “I would rather school start at 8 am and end around 3 pm I would love the extra sleep to start me off.”  

   However, sophomore Jose Rosa said he would keep the school time because he would not like school to end later. He said, “I would like to get over with the school day and not stay longer than 2:20.” 

   A lot of students work or are in after-school activities, which would both be affected by a change in school hours. Sophomore Brianna Carter said she has meetings with the club Interact “Monday through Thursday and the meetings last 3 to 6 and sometimes longer.” Junior Sebastian Paynesia said, “After school I go to work and come home late feeling very tired and stressed about school the next day. I sometimes stay up late do homework.”  

   Other students who do not have work or after school activities, like Jenessy, still must deal with needs at home. She often must clean, cook, and watch over her siblings.  

Different school time options: Which would you choose? 

• Start 7:40 a.m. End: 3:00 p.m. 
• Start: 8:05 a.m. End: 3:15 p.m. 
• Start: 8:50 a.m. End: 4:40 p.m. 
• Start: 9:00 a.m. End 4:00 p.m.
• Start 9:30 a.m. End 4:30 p.m.