In past years, high school students have had to get up before the sun itself, reluctantly dragging themselves out of a warm bed to make it to school on time. In Howard County, many kids in the past have had to wake up between five and six in the morning in order to catch their school bus and inch their way through the horrific morning traffic.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Martirano had planned to push back the early start times for Howard County schools for over 2 years in order to combat this. The eventual execution did not go as planned, and only managed to irritate me and other students.
The initial shift from the usual 7:25 to 8:00 start time was first proposed in April 2021. The county seemed to have recognized that students like me were not able fully function at such an early time, which in turn significantly increased the rate of tardiness for high school students who prioritize sleep over their first period class.
Statistics confidently show that sleep deprivation is a prevalent issue for most high school students. It has been shown to lead to depression and poor performance in school, and in some cases increased drug use.
Research done by the CDC has proven that a teenager’s brain fully “wakes up” between the hours of nine and ten in the morning.
While beginning school that far into the morning would consume too much of the day in the long run, beginning at 8:00 AM was the best Howard County could do for students, though it only lasted for about two weeks until the next change to 7:50.
Personally, the 8:00 AM start time was most convenient for me. Since I drive to school by myself, and follow a short class schedule that cuts out fifth and sixth periods, starting school later while leaving early feels healthiest for me.
I like how even 8:00 is, because it helps me regulate my morning routine and easily calculate how long it takes me to get to school and do other tasks. The later time had also been effective in allowing me to get about one more hour of sleep at night.
Tardiness this year was also caused by the school bus shortage and lack of dependability on free transportation, which was worse this year than it had ever been in the past. Kids were getting picked up at their designated neighborhood bus stops 20 minutes after they should be, some were not getting picked up at all.
Thankfully, this issue does not affect my ability to get to and from school. Since the very first day of the school year, a grace period was given to students who were late to class due to circumstances that were completely out of their control.
This was partially due to the new start time for high schools being 8:00 AM, as opposed to the traditional 7:25 AM. Many bus drivers have complained that the new 8:00 AM schedule was extremely disruptive of their routine, leading to them not having enough time to get to every bus stop.
This has been very clearly stated by several contractors and bus drivers who drive for various services. There simply isn’t enough time, or slack, built into the routing,’ said Superintendent Martirano.
The nation-wide bus shortage had already taken its toll on Howard County, but some are not fond of the county’s decision to partner with a new bus company for the 2023-2024 school year.
Blue Horizons is a local family-owned transportation company that had been partnering with Howard County for 52 years. Jared Defibaugh, the owner of the company, claimed that he “know[s] these streets better than anywhere else.” Regardless of this history, the county made an 81 million dollar deal with a California based company called Zum, which promised “cleaner,” or more environmentally-friendly transportation.
Despite Zum’s promises to the county, transportation this year has gone anything but smooth. Having recognized the major issue, Dr. Martirano and the rest of the board’s spontaneous course of action was to alter the school start time further forward, moving it up by 10 minutes from 8:00 AM to 7:50 AM.
This way, buses have a bit more time to get to and from each bus stop, plus be on time to pick up the middle and elementary schoolers that also need transportation later in the morning.
I feel bad for my peers who have no other options for transportation. Although I currently drive myself to school, I had been taking the bus for two years prior. I understand the frustration of the late buses and not being in control of your own transportation. Students are missing out on instructional time because of factors out of their control.
This abrupt change, although seemingly subtle, was not received well by students and families. Atholton junior Xavier Julien expressed his strong opinion about the inconvenience of the ever-changing school start time.
“They decided to change it like two weeks into school, which is probably right around the time everyone really starts to get comfortable with their daily routine,” he said.
“So it was really annoying to have to shift the time I wake up and other things I do every day. They should’ve just kept it at 8:00.”
Xavier explained that the 7:50-2:35 timing is neither convenient nor “aesthetically pleasing.” In fact, it generally inconveniences parents of bus-riders the most. “My parents would get annoyed when they would have to take me to school themselves, and for good reason; they both have work in the morning.”
Since the buses often did not have enough time to get to certain stops, guardians are ultimately forced to take kids to school themselves. This takes away from working parents’ time and routine in the morning, not to mention increasing traffic entering Atholton’s parking lots.
I agree with Xavier about the nature of the 7:50-2:35 window: it is simply ugly. The shift to the 7:50 start time really annoyed me because I had already structured a morning routine for myself during the first two weeks of school.
Now, I feel more rushed in the morning because of the awkward timing. Occasionally having to come back to school at the end of the day for clubs and activities, now 2:35 instead of 2:45, also feels awkward and annoying.
Many students and faculty at Atholton sincerely wish for the 8:00 bell to return. Its original goal to allow people additional time to sleep at night was effective for the first few weeks into the 2023-2024 school year.
While the amount of time students have to get their beauty sleep has not reduced by very much, it in turn disrupts the day-to-day routines that many keep to stay healthy and on track. Although the buses are now more regulated, it may take students an additional few weeks to get used to their new pickup times.