The issue of School Start Time change is unique to each community – no one solution can be overlaid
on every school system. That said, this has been a very busy year in terms of advocacy as I have been
sought out by many districts from around the country for guidance, thanks in large part to a national
petition circulated by StartSchoolLater.net . They began presenting the 5,000 signatures (from all 50
states) in Washington in March through what they call “Wake Up Wednesdays”, with the eventual goal
of presenting the petition to Congress and the White House.
In the meantime, as LWVCT Start Time Specialist, I have been engaged as a consultant as follows:
Barrington, Rhode Island – In January, I joined Dr. Richard Millman, Internal Medicine Physician and
Sleep Medicine Specialist affiliated with Brown University, to speak at a School Committee (i.e. Board of
Education) community forum on later start times. The event was well attended by parents, students,
and community organizations (like the YMCA), and was filmed by the student film class. The video is
available on the Barrington Patch web site and has been viewed by people nationwide, as subsequent
emails have indicated.
YMCA Connecticut Alliance – I have begun consulting to the Y of the USA’s Connecticut group
responsible for coordinating our state’s Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative (a response to a
national grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control). This
work has just begun and is ongoing, but my contributions speak to the documented link between
obesity and chronic sleep deprivation.
Consultation - I am routinely contacted by communities around the country (and occasionally
internationally) for guidance on changing school start times. This year the following communities/
individuals reached out to me either by phone or email:
Barrington, RI – see above
Seattle, WA – Recently, I have been approached as a source of information for their start time
change initiative. They have just started their initiative.
Cleveland/Akron, Ohio – A community member and social worker will be making a presentation
to a conference in Washington, DC this summer, and our LWV study will be extensively quoted
in her work.
Ridgefield, CT – They continue to hold community forums on adolescent sleep and school start
times, in hope of making a change in the near future.
Weston, MA – I have spoken with a parent who has initiated the dialogue in Weston and feels
that there is a lot of support for making a change both in the community-at-large and in the
school administration.
Greenfield, WI – I have worked closely with a woman (Dolores Skowronek) there who has
worked on changing start times in her community and has gone on to be part of the core group behind StartSchoolLater.net.
Santa Clara/San Jose, CA – Dolores S. and I have been in touch with the Santa Clara/San Jose
LWV, which is the League in the hometown of Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Each year since the late 1990’s,
Rep. Lofgren has re-introduced her “ZZZZZ’s to A’s” legislation to Congress, the intent of which
is to nationally legislate later school start times. The StartSchoolLater.net organization is now
working with the Santa Clara/San Jose LWV to reach out to Rep. Lofgren.
Newtown, CT – I have spoken with a woman who is interested in making the change in
Newtown and have reached out to her for an update.
Toronto, Canada – I spoke with a research intern who was looking for information for a report
on the issue.
Cottonwood, Arizona – I spoke with a community member looking for information and providedhim with a link to the LWV start time study.
Click Download this report in word, below.
on every school system. That said, this has been a very busy year in terms of advocacy as I have been
sought out by many districts from around the country for guidance, thanks in large part to a national
petition circulated by StartSchoolLater.net . They began presenting the 5,000 signatures (from all 50
states) in Washington in March through what they call “Wake Up Wednesdays”, with the eventual goal
of presenting the petition to Congress and the White House.
In the meantime, as LWVCT Start Time Specialist, I have been engaged as a consultant as follows:
Barrington, Rhode Island – In January, I joined Dr. Richard Millman, Internal Medicine Physician and
Sleep Medicine Specialist affiliated with Brown University, to speak at a School Committee (i.e. Board of
Education) community forum on later start times. The event was well attended by parents, students,
and community organizations (like the YMCA), and was filmed by the student film class. The video is
available on the Barrington Patch web site and has been viewed by people nationwide, as subsequent
emails have indicated.
YMCA Connecticut Alliance – I have begun consulting to the Y of the USA’s Connecticut group
responsible for coordinating our state’s Pioneering Healthier Communities initiative (a response to a
national grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control). This
work has just begun and is ongoing, but my contributions speak to the documented link between
obesity and chronic sleep deprivation.
Consultation - I am routinely contacted by communities around the country (and occasionally
internationally) for guidance on changing school start times. This year the following communities/
individuals reached out to me either by phone or email:
Barrington, RI – see above
Seattle, WA – Recently, I have been approached as a source of information for their start time
change initiative. They have just started their initiative.
Cleveland/Akron, Ohio – A community member and social worker will be making a presentation
to a conference in Washington, DC this summer, and our LWV study will be extensively quoted
in her work.
Ridgefield, CT – They continue to hold community forums on adolescent sleep and school start
times, in hope of making a change in the near future.
Weston, MA – I have spoken with a parent who has initiated the dialogue in Weston and feels
that there is a lot of support for making a change both in the community-at-large and in the
school administration.
Greenfield, WI – I have worked closely with a woman (Dolores Skowronek) there who has
worked on changing start times in her community and has gone on to be part of the core group behind StartSchoolLater.net.
Santa Clara/San Jose, CA – Dolores S. and I have been in touch with the Santa Clara/San Jose
LWV, which is the League in the hometown of Rep. Zoe Lofgren. Each year since the late 1990’s,
Rep. Lofgren has re-introduced her “ZZZZZ’s to A’s” legislation to Congress, the intent of which
is to nationally legislate later school start times. The StartSchoolLater.net organization is now
working with the Santa Clara/San Jose LWV to reach out to Rep. Lofgren.
Newtown, CT – I have spoken with a woman who is interested in making the change in
Newtown and have reached out to her for an update.
Toronto, Canada – I spoke with a research intern who was looking for information for a report
on the issue.
Cottonwood, Arizona – I spoke with a community member looking for information and providedhim with a link to the LWV start time study.
Click Download this report in word, below.
| Report of the School Start Time Specialist 2011-2012 |
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