School Start Time

Charles Czeisler 3-26-2019 from Paul Spagna on Vimeo.

Presentation at Dover Sherborn Middle School March 26, 2019:  Sleep Matters:  K-12 Student’ Changing Sleep Clocks and School Start Times by Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D.; Baldino Professor of Sleep Medicine,  Professor of Medicine and Director, Division of Sleep Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Senior Physician and Chief, Division of Sleep and Circadian Disorders, Departments of Neurology, Brigham & Women’s Hospital. 

Sponsored by Dover Sherborn Start Time Task Force, Dover Sherborn Wellness Committee and Dover Sherborn Challenge Success

Overview

In accordance with the District Strategic Plan Goal: Social and Emotional Wellness of Staff and Students, Superintendent Dr. Andrew Keough convened a Task Force to investigate whether Dover-Sherborn should consider adjustments to its district start times. Though this issue was investigated during the 2015-16 school year, Superintendent Bliss ultimately opted not to recommend a change to the school committees. Click here to view the 2015 School Start Time Final Report

Experts agree that shifting start times later gives adolescents an opportunity to get the rest they need to be healthy, balanced, and successful students. Given the science-related to this issue and the desire by many in the community to revisit the subject of school start times, the Task Force looked at current scientific research as well as what other systems are doing in order to examine what might be in the best interests of Dover Sherborn students.

As of now, no decision has been made to make a change. Any recommendations for a start time change would need to be put forward by the superintendent and approved by all three district school committees. Any approved changes would not take effect until the 2020 academic year.

2019 Survey Results

Explore the resources on this page and view the navigation menu on the left to learn more. Feel free to reach out to the School Start Time Task Force at schoolstarttime@doversherborn.org with any questions and/or concerns.