Nashville Schools To Begin Studying Start & End Times This Fall

Image Credit: Martin B. Cherry / Nashville Banner

**Note from The Tennessee Conservative – This article posted here for informational purposes only.

This story was originally published by the Nashville Banner. Sign up for their newsletter.

by Lillian Avedian, [The Nashville Banner, Creative Commons] –

Nashville public high schools have one of the earliest start times in the country. That may be changing.

On Friday, Metro Nashville Public Schools and the mayor’s office announced the launch of a districtwide study of school start and end times. 

“Research shows that how we structure and optimize instructional time has a real impact on student health and success,” Mayor Freddie O’Connell said in a video announcing the study. “Nashville’s families are diverse, and we want to find a solution that reflects that diversity and meets your needs.” 

The monthslong review will consider student health and learning outcomes, transportation logistics, family routines and operational efficiency. 

This fall, MNPS and the mayor’s office plan to gather input from students, families and educators through surveys and listening sessions, then publish a summary of the findings. The process of collecting community feedback could begin “as early as next week,” MNPS spokesperson Sean Braisted told the Banner. 

In the winter, MNPS and the mayor’s office will develop potential schedule options while gathering further input. Findings and recommendations will be presented to the MNPS Board of Education early next year, according to the district. 

The mayor has long championed delaying high school start times. It was part of his education platform in 2023 in his proposed “15 Fixes on Day One.” 

Most Nashville public high schools currently begin as early as 7:05 a.m., with elementary and middle schools starting later in the morning. According to federal data from 2017-18, most public high schools in the U.S. start at 8 a.m. or later. Just 10 percent of schools begin before 7:30 a.m. 

A growing body of research points to the health benefits of later school start times. The American Academy of Pediatrics urged school districts in 2014 to delay start times to no earlier than 8:30 a.m. The association argued that this would allow students to achieve between 8.5 to 9.5 hours of sleep each night, a key factor in student health, safety and academic performance. 

However, a change could pose other challenges. MNPS officials have argued that a later start time could make it more difficult to bus the nearly 80,000 students in the district to school, while placing students on the road during peak traffic. 

When asked whether MNPS is looking to push its high school start times with this study, Braisted told the Banner that the district has not committed to a specific proposal, and is waiting to gather stakeholder feedback. 

The district has been exploring the issue of school start and end times for years — most recently in 2010, according to Braisted. He said that the district “intended to study this topic more thoroughly” after it transitioned all fifth grade classes from middle to elementary schools, a process that concluded in the last academic year. 

The announcement also follows the approval of a contract by Metro Council on Oct. 21 with 4MATIV Technologies, Inc. worth $250,000. 4MATIV will assist the district in reviewing its transportation plans and provide feedback. 

The launch of the study has already garnered extensive attention on social media. Dozens of comments on MNPS’ Facebook page expressed support for revised start and end times or offered other suggestions. 

“Later high school start times mean lower suicide rates, fewer teen car accidents, lower rates of depression, better attendance, higher graduation rates, the list goes on,” one community member, Indie Pereira, wrote. 

In another comment, Dee Tay shared that many students currently “wake up at 5 a.m. or so to do an eight hour educational day,” followed by extracurricular activities and work. 

MNPS board member Abigail Tylor wrote on social media that “school start times is something I’ve been asking us to reconsider for years now.

“Hoping to have a different option to vote on before next year begins!”