Hempfield data show early start times elicit better grades

Hempfield Area High School students will continue to start classes each morning at 7:25 a.m.

Assistant Principal Gregory Saraceni compiled average grades from early classes at the high school and compared them to the same class held later in the day.

In general, higher grade averages were seen in first periods, he told the school board this week.

During the first-period AP Economics class, the average was about 95%, which is about 2% higher than later classes, Saraceni said.

The average for the English 12 class during first period is about 79%, about 5% higher than other classes.

“Listening to the comments being made that they’re not engaged, they’re not focused, they’re not awake, they’re not performing at that hour, I think just doing some brief grade comparisons I would have to say that the data is actually supporting the fact that the kids are more engaged early on,” Saraceni said.

Other schools in the region , including Woodland Hills and Pine-Richland, voted last year for later start times.

Woodlands Hills shifted their start times up by 20 minutes last school year. Pine-Richland schools this year adjusted start time from 7:20 a.m. to 7:45 a.m. at the high school, and from a 9:15 a.m. start time to 9:20 a.m. at the primary schools.

Other schools, like North Allegheny and Fox Chapel decided to research the costs and benefits of moving up start times.

“(It’s) something we’re hearing from the workforce that’s something they need to be, is get in and get started because if you don’t do that, you’re kind of wasting some of the most productive time that you have out there,” Saraceni said.