Decision coming in January on later EPHS start time

Eden Prairie High School students likely will wake up to a new, later start time in the fall of 2021, according to information presented by Superintendent Josh Swanson at the school board’s Nov. 23 meeting.

A 19-member Start and End Time Task Force consisting of parents, staff, community members and administrators began meeting earlier this year to review research on the topic. This fall, the task force completed a report recommending that Swanson explore options for adjusting start times based on current research.

Research reviewed by the task force included a three-year study conducted by the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI) at the University of Minnesota. That study concluded that high schools starting at 8:30 a.m. or later allow for more than 60 percent of students to get at least eight hours of sleep on school nights.

Teens getting less than eight hours of sleep experienced significantly higher levels of depression, greater use of caffeine, and are at greater risk of substance use, the report said.

Additionally, academic performance showed significant improvements with start times of 8:35 a.m. or later. Car crashes involving drivers 16 to 18 years old was reduced by 70 percent when start times shifted from 7:35 a.m. to 8:55 a.m., the report concluded.

School board to review alternative start times December 14

Based on that recommendation, Swanson directed a team to begin considering alternatives. “I’ve asked (them) to come up with a plan that is operationally feasible … that aligns with the research, and is also cost-effective,” Swanson said.

Any changes need to align with sixth graders moving to Central Middle School (CMS) next fall, when the school begins using a new, eight-period schedule.  Because of that change, it is necessary to decouple start and end times between CMS and the high school, Swanson said. Bus scheduling is a key component in considering start and end times at all district schools.

Swanson said he will share a draft of start and end times at the school board’s regular Dec. 14 meeting. That will be followed by community meetings and gathering additional input from stakeholders. School board meetings are conducted virtually and can be viewed live here.

Swanson plans to announce a final decision in January.

“I want to make sure those families have plenty of time to make any kind of necessary adjustments for next year,” he said at the school board’s Nov. 23 meeting.

“I know that any change like this is always tough,” Swanson said. “It doesn’t mean that everybody is going to be appreciative of that, but in this case I think the timing, the benefits to students’ health and academics, and operational opportunities that are all aligned make this about as easy a time to make this kind of transition and I think the benefits far outweigh the challenges.”

Results of a parent survey in December 2019 indicated that 70 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that it made sense for the high school to start earlier. Four of the seven other Lake Conference high schools start school 30 minutes to an hour later than Eden Prairie.