Recommended Changes to School Start Times
Letter to the Editor by Courtney Black
In direct opposition to the recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a both local and nation-wide movement to later high school start times, the Tahoma School District quietly moved the already early high school start time, even earlier in the 2022-23 school year as students struggled to return to the classroom following the pandemic. While the American Academy of Pediatrics released their recommendation that high schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. in 2014, the Tahoma School District moved from 8:15 a.m. in the 2016-17 school year to 7:40 a.m. with the opening of the new high school the following year. In 2022-23, it was moved back further, to 7:35 a.m. At the same time Tahoma was moving earlier, Seattle area schools were responding to the compelling evidence of harm to students and moving start times later during this same period.
The Tahoma School District has willingly contributed to greater risk of student rates of depression and disease and an increased risk for auto accidents:
“We’re confident that this change is going to have a positive impact on instructional practices, and will better allow us to hold all students to high expectations in the classroom,” (school board director) Pete Miller. We keep hearing about holding students to high expectations. And yet school district leadership is making policy around high school start time that could not be a lower standard. Local districts including the Seattle, Bellevue, and Mercer Island school districts have moved to later start times in recent years.
Click the left or right arrows or swipe below to see start times here and elsewhere:
Seattle: Seventeen public high schools were converted. Tahoma has, of course, only one. 
Bellevue changed start times in 2016 
Mercer Island high school starts at 8am, with a late start on Wednesdays 
Auburn’s high schools starts at 8:10 on Tue-Fri, with an hour late start on Mondays. We compete against Auburn in sports. 
Kent high schools have similar start times to ours. We compete against Kent in sports. 
Tahoma High school starts at 7:35am with early release on Fridays 
The entire state of California has moved their middle and high school start times later 
Seattle’s decision to delay start times resulted in significant sleep improvements
While some districts haven’t moved times, the Tahoma School District, achieving the lowest standard and perhaps the only district to do this since widespread movement to later start times, moved the high school start time earlier.
The following chart shows the tardies per student per quarter based on data provided through a public records request. The pre-COVID average of roughly two had doubled in the first school year back, 2021-2022 to four tardies per student on average. Perhaps it was not thoughtful or data driven timing to move back the school start time when students were clearly struggling with getting to school on time and the focus to make it to later school period classes on time.
The principal has recently implemented increased discipline for tardies. Imagine that, the school makes it more difficult for you to get to school on time, and then increases the cost of not making it! High school students are savvy to the cruelty in this.
The District has quietly made substantial policy change that is proven by overwhelming evidence to harm adolescent students, moving an already earlier than average high school start time, earlier. The Tahoma School District leadership needs to wake up and correct this egregious error in moving backward on one of the most important factors impacting student mental and physical health, and even their safety as new drivers.
Since local districts have blazed the path under much more difficult circumstances (Seattle has 17 high schools listed above with start times), and entire states are considering or have passed legislation to mandate later start times, the District needs to move with urgency to make this right, or at least less wrong.
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Letters to the Editor do not necessarily reflect the beliefs or values of Tahoma Values.
