Do metro schools start too early?

"The research is clear that adolescents who get enough sleep have a reduced risk of being overweight or suffering depression, are less likely to be involved in automobile accidents, and have better grades, higher standardized test scores and an overall better quality of life," said Dr. Judith Owens, the study's lead author. "Studies have shown that delaying early school start times is one key factor that can help adolescents get the sleep they need to grow and learn."

Gwinnett County high school students may want to encourage officials to consider the report’s findings. Most high schools start class at 7:10 a.m., the earliest time among metro Atlanta’s largest school districts.

Gwinnett spokeswoman Sloan Roach noted it has more students than any district in Georgia and created a transportation plan in the late 1990s to manage the growth. The plan included a decision that some students had to attend classes earlier than others.

Roach said Gwinnett conducted a communitywide survey that concluded high schools should start class first and leave earlier than other grades, in part, to accommodate students who have after-school jobs.

“That provided time” for after-school jobs “and for extracurricular activities,” she said.

Gwinnett’s middle school students have plenty of time to rest up beforehand. Classes start at 9:20 a.m., later than other metro Atlanta districts.

Other area districts are close to the report’s recommended start times.

Atlanta middle schools start at 9:05 a.m. High schools begin at 8:30 a.m. Clayton high schools and middle schools start at 8:20 a.m. and 8:50 a.m., respectively. In Cobb, high schools start class at 8:20 a.m. and middle schools begin at 9:15 a.m. Fulton high schools and middle schools begin classes at 8:20 a.m. and 8:55 a.m., respectively.

Most DeKalb County middle schools begin classes between 8:40 a.m. and 8:50 a.m. Nearly all DeKalb high schools start classes at 8:10 a.m.