Minneapolis students complained they didn't have enough time to shift gears between the time they got out of school and the time they began their after-school jobs, according to Wahlstrom. But many liked the new schedule, saying they felt more alert and awake for the first two hours of school. They also said they liked having time at home in the morning to talk to their parents. Parents, for their part, had mixed feelings about the impact of the changes on their child- care arrangements, Wahlstrom says. Since the bell change in Edina, students are getting about an hour more sleep than they did before, and parents and teachers are hailing the difference.
Parents say the children are less crabby, moody and depressed.
Wahlstrom's research confirms such anecdotes about mood. Students in the districts similar to Edina but with earlier school start times reported more depressed feelings and risky behaviors. Taking on such a complicated set of issues related to start times requires careful deliberations, Wahlstrom says. This is a local decision, so there is not one solution that fits everyone. As a result, the only way a school district is going to have a good local decision is to sit down with the best information that they can get their hands on and have an open discussion and think a little bit outside the box.