Princeton High School To Start Day Later Next Year

PRINCETON, NJ — After much discussion in recent weeks, the Princeton Public School District Board of Education made a final decision on the start of the school day Tuesday night.

The Board of Education approved a new start and end time for the high school day, effective September of 2018, Planet Princeton reports. The day will begin at 8:20 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m. After the 2018-19 school year, officials will evaluate the changes and make any necessary adjustments. The middle school is scheduled to join the high school’s schedule beginning in 2019-20.

The vote was 9-0, with one abstension, according to NJ 101.5.

Currently, the high school day runs from 7:50 a.m. to 2:51 p.m. John Witherspoon Middle School students are in class from 8:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m.; and elementary school runs from 8:25 a.m. to 3 p.m. Those times will remain the same.

An earlier proposal had called for the high school and the John Witherspoon Middle School days to run from 8:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.; and for the elementary school days to run from 8:10 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.

“There are many other measures that we can take, both at school and at home, to promote more sleep and less stress for our children,” Princeton Superintendent of Schools Dr. Steve Cochrane said, according to the Princeton Packet. “Nevertheless, the research is clear. A later start time does make a difference. Students do get more sleep.”

The proposal was modified after the district received feedback from community members concerned about expanded before and after school care, and staff members concerned about their commute.

The schedule approved during Tuesday night’s meeting means lighted sports fields will be unnecessary. Residents who live near Princeton High School were reportedly opposed to that idea.

Concerns about the school day schedule came from a survey in which more than 80 percent of students in the district said they are often or always stressed by schoolwork. Only 15 percent said they truly enjoy learning during the school day.

Students are also spending between three and three and a half hours a night on homework, and getting between six and six and a half hours of sleep a night. During a review of the survey in April, the district learned that about 47 percent of students miss one or more days of school each month because of a stress-related or emotional problem.

Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert has come out in support of beginning the school day later.

Patch file photo