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Portsmouth considers earlier high school start times

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On April 12 the Portsmouth School District will host a panel on a later school start time for high schoolers.

At this point the Portsmouth School Board does not have any specific proposals, but they are considering moving the high school start time one hour later. They might also start elementary school one hour earlier.

The April 12 meeting will include Superintendent Steve Zadravec, School Board member Patrick Ellis, Athletic Director Rus Wilson, and Erin Hiley Sharp, a UNH professor of human development and family studies. The panel will answer questions, but will not take public testimony. A public hearing will take place at a later date.

Supporters of a later high school start time point to evidence that adolescents naturally sleep later than children and adults. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that high schools start at 8:30am or later.

Opponents of later school start times point out the challenges for family schedules. If high school starts and ends later than elementary school, for example, older students are not available to babysit younger siblings. If all schools start simultaneously at a later time, it can also increase costs for busing.

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