(Photo by Shelley Hanson) Ohio County Board of Education members listen to information regarding the harm sleep deprivation has on adolescents during a work session regarding changing school start times on Friday. From left are Assistant Superintendent Rick Jones and board members Bernie Albertini and Andy Garber.

WHEELING – A committee formed by the Ohio County Board of Education recommended to the board Friday morning that school start time be pushed to a half-hour later in the day, with dismissal coming a half-hour later as well.

The board held a work session Friday to discuss ideas regarding potential new start times for students. Members of a related committee gave presentations as to why teenagers’ health is being harmed by the early start time of 7:30 a.m. at Wheeling Park High School.

It mostly has to do with their bodies’ natural melatonin secretion times, their bodies’ natural circadian rhythms and how their brains and bodies are not fully awake and ready for learning until about 9 a.m. each day, the committee members said. Even if they attempt to go to bed earlier than usual, this natural cycle of sleep for their age group cannot be changed.

According to various scientific studies, they said, not enough sleep impacts teens’ health and ability to learn.

With that in mind, the committee recommended that times for all schools begin 30 minutes later, which would also push the end time by 30 minutes. Four elementary schools that already have start times of 9 a.m. would have their end times pushed by 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes.

The committee recommended coupling the new times with giving high school students who are able to do so the option of taking their lunch period first thing in the morning, allowing them to start their first class during the second period. This would give those students even more sleep time. It was noted many students forgo lunch already to take additional classes.

Committee member and board member Andy Garber, a retired elementary school principal, expressed concern about elementary age students having a later start time. He said it may interfere with them learning core subjects like math and reading.

“The meat of their learning is in the morning,” he said.

The board asked Superintendent Kim Miller to go over the presentation and recommendation from the committee and work with her administration on a final recommendation for the board to consider during the June 22 regular board of education meeting.

Board member Molly Aderholt said the board has been talking about making a change since 2019. She noted shifting all schools by 30 minutes would only require a couple extra buses and drivers in the afternoon for the four elementary schools that would have a 15-minute adjustment at the end of the day.

“It’s not ideal for anyone. We would love if the high school started at 8:30 a.m. … But this is the proposal that seems to weigh all of the interests including costs and tries to come out with something that is workable,” she said. “And it at least gives us a little bit of extra time for those high school kids, while taking into consideration the younger kids as well.”

The Ohio County Schools Healthy Start committee, which has been working on the issue for the past 18 months, includes Garber; Aderholt; board of education member Bernie Albertini; Chris Dunaway, LA Dodgers international director of athleticism and performance, former OCS teacher and current OCS coach and parent; Dr. Raina Burke, a WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital emergency room doctor and OCS parent; Scott Pettit, associate director, regional accounts, Novo Nordisk, who holds a bachelor’s in secondary education-biological science, and a master’s degree in counseling with an emphasis in school counseling; Renee Ellis, OCS bus driver and parent; and Kristin Wheeler, OCS teacher.

The board also received a copy of a letter in support of healthier start times for adolescents from Wheeling pediatrician Dr. Matthew Morris. The committee has received analyses of various start time ideas and bus routes from RouteWise AI.