Resources and Research

This page contains resources for parents as well as research pertaining to the new school hours that will go into effect at DMPS in August 2018. Additional information will be added to this page from time to time on topics ranging from good sleep habits for students to finding the best route to school.

BACKGROUND

• School Hours Survey Results – overview of survey on proposed change to school hours (November 2017)
• School Board Presentation (November 21, 2017) – includes highlights and a summary of research in support of new school hours as well as a survey on the new hours when they were proposed.
• School Hours for Neighboring Districts (2017-18 school year)

GOOD SLEEP HABITS

The following is information prepared and/or presented by Des Moines Public Schools in our consideration of changing school hours:

• Bedroom Routine Tip Sheet (American Occupational Therapy Association)
• Sleep Needs Across Lifespans (Sleep Health Foundation)

Interview with Dr. Nathan Boonstra, pediatrician at Blank Children’s Hospital

RESEARCH

The following are articles and reports on how sleep patterns and school hours can impact education:

• A Summary of Elementary School Start Time Research (DMPS Assessment, Data and Evaluation)
• “The Economic Case for Letting Teenagers Sleep a Little Later” (New York Times)
• Benefits of Later School Start Times (Brown University)
• Start Later, Sleep Later: School Start Times and Adolescent Sleep in Homeschool Versus Public/Private School Students (Behavioral Sleep Medicine)
• Impact of School Start Times on Student Learning (Hanover Research)
• School Start Times for Adolescents (American Academy of Pediatrics)
• Later School Start Times Promote Adolescent Well-Being (American Psychological Association)
• Examining the Impact of Later High School Start Times on the Health and Academic Performance of High School Students: A Multi-Site Study (University of Minnesota)
• “Schools are Slow to Learn Sleep Deprivation Hits Teenagers Hardest” (New York Times)
• “The Association Between Elementary School Start Times and Students’ Academic Achievement in Wayzata Public Schools” (University of Minnesota)
• “Early to rise? The effect of daily start times on academic performance” (Economics of Education Review)
• “Earlier School Start Times as a Risk Factor for Poor School Performance: An Examination of Public Elementary Schools in the Commonwealth of Kentucky” (Journal of Educational Psychology)
• “Earlier school start times are associated with higher rates of behavioral problems in elementary schools” (Journal of the National Sleep Foundation)
• “Elementary Feedback on Changed Start Times” (University of Minnesota)
• Start School Later (clearinghouse with information on sleep and school hours)