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Wilton League of Women Voters and Board of Education members spoke about how school start changes affected the community during a forum at the Westport Public Library today.
The Westport League of Women Voters hosted the forum as part of a statewide league study favoring later school start times for teenagers in high and middle schools.
League members were given ballots to vote if it agrees with the state study. The ballots are due to state league officials by April 1.
The Wilton Board of Education was the first to in the state to change its start times later for older students.
The Westport Board of Education had started studying the issue nearly three years ago, but the study was never completed.
Catharine Kempson, Wilton League of Women Voters action chairwoman, said state officials were considering creating a mandate for teens to go to school later.
With a three-tier bus schedule system, she said, the Wilton school system was potentially seeing transportation costs to triple if the mandate was passed.
Therefore, the Wilton league went forward with the study, she said, and looked at sleep studies about how teens biologically go to sleep later, wake up later and need more sleep.
Sleep deprivation can cause teenagers to not be able to control their emotional responses, not be able to stay focus and have an inability to complete tasks well.
Drivers under 25 years old, Kempson said, also contribute the most to “fall-asleep” crashes, which means no other factors like weather caused the crash.
The students who have the most activities are also the ones most likely to be involved with the crashes, she said.
“We spoke to our superintendent about the study,” she Kempson said. “Although he was not happy about the changes, he became convinced of the point.”
The school board changed the start times to 8:20 a.m. for the high and middle schools, 7:40 a.m. for the upper elementary school and 9 a.m. for the lower elementary schools, she said.
Lisa Bogan, Wilton Board of Education member, said the start times were challenged numerous times at the board level, but they were always upheld with some tweaking along the way.
Athletic participation is stronger than ever, she said, and some extracurricular activities like orchestra always met before school.
The changes helped grow those before-school programs, she said.
Extra help was traditionally after school, Bogan said, but many teachers liked to offer it before school.
Now extra help is offered before school, she said.
Kempson said the complaints from parents have never been from high school and middle school parents and students.
The complaints have been from upper elementary parents who wanted everyone to start school later, she said.
With athletics, she said, the local athletic league – FCIAC – has helped Wilton High School’s games start a little later when necessary.
Overall, Kempson said, students are not missing more classes for athletics because of the changes to the school schedule.
The only time it has affected students missing classes is when there are state tournament games, which are further away, she said.
Also, she said, if there is an early dismissal because of an emergency such a snow, the older students are dismissed first although they don’t start school first.
That means the older students are home when their younger siblings arrive home from school in those situations.
