Link: Formal Research Proposal

Later Start Times for Columbia High School Introduction to Research TopicBlue Devil Mascot in a cheer stunt

For this research project, I have decided to research the effectiveness of later start times in my high school. This topic is important to me because I feel as though many adults do not take the effects of sleep deprivation on teenagers into consideration. This topic also coincides with the effects of too much homework given to these teenagers with such an early start time. I am interested in the psychological effects that could be improved by pushing back the start time of high schools. Throughout my four years in Columbia, I had to wake up at 5:30 a.m. in order to catch the bus that arrived at my stop at 6:10 a.m. The superintendent and principal had started looking into this topic in the 2019-2020 school year before school was pushed online due to COVID 19. They looked into the issue because Columbia had one of the earliest start times in New York State, starting at 7:10 am. This is a topic I am passionate about and hope to learn more about through this research project.

I believe this issue is more important now than ever due to the number of psychological effects of high school on teenagers due to sleep deprivation. Nowadays, mental health has become less of a taboo topic in society and more people believe that it is more important to talk about it openly. I feel as though adults are more understanding of how their kids and just teens in general

feel whereas before it was believed that teenagers did not have the capability of having poor mental health.

Leading Research Questions
Why is it important to push start times back in high school?
How will a later start time affect a teenager’s mental health?
Related Questions
How many schools in the state start later?
How will this affect the start times of the elementary and middle school in this district? Current Knowledge

My current knowledge of this topic is limited, and I am eager to learn more throughout this research project. I know that lack of adequate sleep can cause detrimental psychological effects on people of any age. In my high school experience, I saw kids who would stay up until three a.m. in order to finish their homework and still need to wake up for school before six a.m. I watched as those around me’s grades slipped due to lack of sleep and feeling lethargic all day at school. I look forward to learning more about this topic as I further my research.

Preliminary Internet Source

This is an article that was found on the Sojourner Truth Library’s website. It was written by Anne G. Wheaton. Wheaton has a PHD in the Division of Population Health, and works for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, CDC. This article will

provide a general understanding of the issue of early start times in high schools. The article includes statistics of high school start times throughout the United States.

Anne G Wheaton, State Start Times