A Case for More Late Arrival Days
By Connor Christenson
As a high school student athlete, there is nothing more I look forward too during the school year than late arrivals. After having long stressful days packed with school, practice, and homework, it is hard to also get enough sleep each night. Throughout my four years at Moeller High School, the days I felt I performed best in the classroom were late arrival days. This was not only because of the extra hours of sleep but also the shortened time of day which doesn’t allow students to get bored and tired. The extra hours of sleep not only create more energy for the following day but also help students focus in class without the fear of falling asleep.
After interviewing multiple students about late arrivals, the most common answer for why they are needed was increased focus because of the more hours of sleep which supports my thesis. Although the schedule of late arrival conflicts and removes Mentor Group and M-block, it still offers many advantages for students especially because juniors and seniors are exempt from M-block already. I agree that M-block is a good time to meet with teachers and get caught up with missing work. Also, Mentor group being a good time to grow relationships with other students and teachers. However, I believe that more late arrivals would not affect these things.
Being a student athlete, especially during the season, makes it very difficult to perform well on the field and in the classroom with limited time. With the increased amount of homework as the year progresses, the amount of time student athletes have decreases at the same time. Students then tend to create a habit of either staying up late to finish homework or not completing homework at all. Scientific studies from sleep foundations show high schoolers should get at a minimum of eight hours of sleep which is nearly impossible with the schedule of some students.
Moeller offers ten late arrival days throughout the 2022-23 school year. I have heard many teachers and faculty members at Moeller argue that late arrivals conflict with bonds developed during mentor groups and remove the opportunity for students to get help in M-Block. I know there is a certain number of hours and days of school required each year. The different schedule for late arrivals also holds Juniors and Seniors until 2:40, which is longer than a normal day where they are released at 1:28. This could infuriate students who enjoy being let out earlier in the day so they have more time to do homework before practice or get home earlier.
However, as a Moeller student who has attended the school for four years, I believe late arrivals offer many advantages that are more important than the disadvantages. These include more rest for students to relieve stress from the intense workload of homework and practice. Also included is increased focus as stated above to help students perform better in the classroom and post a higher GPA. A couple extra hours of sleep also is proven to create a better mood for students, which will make school more enjoyable and help increase attentiveness in the classroom. Moeller Little Buddies program meets every late arrival which does not allow those students involved to gain the extra rest.
As a student, I would love to see the Moeller administration add more late arrivals throughout the school years that also alow Little Buddies participants to be able to gain focus, attentiveness, and perform better in the classroom. I believe the addition of late arrivals would not only increase the school’s overall morale and performance of students but also encourage students who are thinking about attending Moeller to make the decision.