Task Force To Study Later Start Time For Norwood High School

NORWOOD, MA — Early mornings for high school students in Norwood could one day be a thing of the past.

Last week, the Norwood School Committee discussed the creation of a task force to review a later start time at the high school. The idea to study the issue came after subcommittee discussions between committee members Teresa Marie Stewart and Maura Smith.

Smith cited a 2012 study from the American Academy of Pediatrics which states that no high school or middle school should start before 8:30 a.m. and a National Sleep Foundation study which discovered that 59 percent of middle school students and 87 percent of high school students are not getting enough sleep.

While committee members were generally supportive of moving the start time, they did say they wanted to hear the potential concerns from students, parents, teachers, transportation staff, and those involved in after school activities.

“It’s a large game of Jenga. You do it then what do you do with the buses? What do you do with the start times for the middle and elementary schools?” Smith said.

Local schools, including Sharon, Newton, and Hanover, have moved to a later start time but the process to get there could take up to two years.

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