Students in 22 high schools in the largest county in Virginia will get extra sleep next fall under a new plan approved this week that will push back the first class of the day in high schools to 8 a.m. or later.
The Fairfax County plan was designed with the help of sleep experts from National Children’s Medical Center, who found that the current high school schedule, where classes begin at 7:20 a.m., could be negatively affecting student health.
The chairman of the school board that voted 11-1 in favor of the change said, “The growing body of research on the health benefits for adolescents has become so clear and compelling, we felt that we had to make a change.”
(READ the story from the Washington Post)
Photo by Ed Yourdon (CC license)