Brookfield Schools Approve Changes To Start Times

BROOKFIELD, CT — Following a year of research, including student and parent surveys, meetings with educators and administrators from various districts, the School Board has approved a shift in school start times beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.

The Board voted unanimously to accept the recommendation of the BOE's Healthy School Start Times Subcommittee, which was presented at a June 3 meeting.

Students at Whisconier Middle School and Brookfield High School will attend classes from 8:00 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. once the new schedule is in place, which will afford the high school students enough time for another 45 minutes of sleep. The schedule for Huckleberry Hill Elementary and Center Elementary will be 8:50 a.m. to 3:35 p.m.

Among the findings in the subcommittee's research was that the American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends that teens aged 13 to 18 should sleep eight to 10 hours per day for good health. Shifts in their biological rhythms during puberty cause adolescents to become sleepy later at night, and develop a need to sleep later in the morning, according to the group's findings.

The two-year lead time to implement the changes will coincide with the opening of the new school and give "all stakeholders time to plan and adapt to change," according to the presentation.