Kudos to all three Midcoast school districts (Five Towns CSD, RSU 13 and SAD 40) for working together to address a major public health concern—chronic sleep deprivation among adolescents—by pushing back start times for middle and high schools. As a parent, I am delighted that administrators and school boards are taking action to do what’s best for the growth and well-being of our kids.

Schools that have moved to later school start times have seen improvements in attendance, grades and even test scores. Biddeford’s school system recently adopted a later start, and its superintendent Jeremy Ray now sees students fully engaged—not falling asleep in class or pumped up on caffeine. There have been no real down sides, he affirms; “we are so glad that we did [this].”

Each district will need to make some modifications to transportation and sports schedules, but changing at a regional scale will help. More and more schools across Maine are making this shift; there’s even a bill in the Legislature (LD 468) that would encourage all secondary schools to adopt a start time no earlier than 8:30 AM by September 2019.

For families wanting to learn more about the proposed change, there’s a forum at 7 p.m. on Tuesday February 28 at the Pitch (Route 90 in Warren). There’s also resource information online at http://www.startschoollater.net/me---midcoast.html.

A change of routine is always unsettling, but what’s most important here is that 2,000-plus students will arrive at school ready to learn. As Mr. Ray notes, “how often can you benefit all kids at once?”

Marina Schauffler lives in Camden