As all the high school students are aware, the time we start school is 7:36am-7:42am, and at Ledyard High School, we have a wide variety of towns that come to this school. This also means that these students have to wake up extra early for buses or to be on time. There has been talk from administrators and some of the student body about wanting a later start time, that start time is changing now, starting next week!

The reason why the schedule at Ledyard is changing is because studies have become more known about how schools starting after 8:30am benefit students and also align with the adolescent biological sleep pattern. Children ages 13-18 need at least 8-10 hours of sleep, regularly, to be able to wake up and feel reset, and refreshed. As most schools in the United States start around 7:30am, schools in Europe have been reported to start around 8:30am-9am and have noticed a significant increase in emotional stability and physical growth. Recent announcements from principal Amanda Fagan says she believes it will be in the best interest of the students to move the time. Students are now allowed to start setting their alarms later, as school will be starting at 10:30am; sleeping in a couple extra hours allows taking their time in the morning to come in and in hopes to be refreshed and more focused. 

How is this going to benefit the students of Ledyard?  This will benefit the students who come to school from outside districts who have to wake up earlier than they’d like or earlier than other students who do not live outside the district, and give all students and staff more time to come and be ready. Sleep deprivation can also harm the learning process of students of all ages, “the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued findings that laid out a stark and sobering picture of how sleep deprivation harms students, especially high schoolers”(Walker). 

At Ledyard, we strive to be the best we can, helping the students in any way possible. Sophomore Sunny Sunshine agrees with this change, she says, “As a student who is from out of town, I think this will definitely benefit me and other students with more time to sleep and not have to get up so early.” Another student, Junior Nightly DayNight shares, “I’m not an early bird, waking up before 7 is a challenge for me and other students, I support changing the time.” Multiple other students had agreed with the starting time being pushed later and are excited to come into school next week at 10:30am!

Madelyn Thomasson, Staff Writer

Junior Madelyn Thomasson is a staff writer for the 2025-2026 Colonel Newse. She likes spending time with her friends, shopping at TJ Maxx and listening to music.