PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Lower Merion School District’s high schools will start an hour later this year.
“Research has shown that teenagers have trouble falling asleep earlier in the evening, and with these later start times, this will enable our high school students to get sufficient sleep before the buses come to pick them up,” said Lower Merion School District Community Relations Director Amy Buckman.
Lower Merion and Harriton high schools will start at 8:30 a.m., middle schools at 8 a.m., and elementary schools at 9:10 a.m.
Buckman says they want morning drivers to be aware that come Sept. 3, these changes will affect traffic in Lower Merion.
“... Exercise a little patience. Be careful on the roadways — students and buses and traffic will be impacted by this, and just be aware and be careful,” Buckman said.
Buckman says benefits of this schedule change include better performance in school, improved emotional well-being, and fewer car accidents.
Correction: A previous version of this story misnamed one of the high schools. The current story reflects that change.