In 2019, The Gators Eye had written an article on why school should start later. There were reasons listed such as adolescents needing more sleep and car crash rates increasing. It was stated in the article that people had already sent in their opinions to Wake County and have tried petitioning for Wake County schools to start after 8:30 am. 3 years later, nothing has changed.

We are being ignored and Wake County hasn’t done anything about it. Health effects from waking up early can be increased anxiety, high blood pressure, weight gain, poor concentration, and an increased rate of getting heart disease. Car crashes can occur due to poor reaction times and driver inattention. Not only can waking up very early be bad for your health but it can also be bad for your academic performance. Not getting enough sleep will lead to a lack of attention and concentration. This can then affect grades and assignments.

In Durham County, high schools start significantly later than the high schools in Wake County. According to Durham Public Schools, the 2022-2023 bell schedule says Durham high schools start at 9:15 while the elementary schools start at 7:45. There is almost a two-hour difference between Wake County high schools and Durham County high schools.

Since nothing has changed, people can continue to petition and advocate for a later school starting time. If we keep petitioning, we may finally draw attention and maybe we can see progress in Wake County. Maybe the 2023-2024 bell schedule will be modified.