Dear ’90s Kids, School Doesn’t Start As Early As It Did For Us

Thinking back to when I was a teenager attending Poudre High School in Fort Collins, I still remember hearing the dreaded alarm clock. School started at 7:30, which means I rolled out of bed around 7:21.

The thing is, back in the day, there was never a question whether waking up too early was bad for us students. School was school, and you were expected to be there from 7:30 to 3:15. Full stop.

Nowadays, I guess we worry about kids and how much rest they're getting. Let's take a look at how school start and end times have shifted in the past few decades.

School start times

Let's take a look at the Poudre High School to start. For literal decades, school started at 7:30 on the dot. And then folks began discussing how much sleep teenagers need. Get this, now school doesn't start until past 9:00.

Dang, I went to school in the wrong era.

The change is fairly new. it was implemented for the 2024-2025 school year. imagine if you graduated in 2023. Bummer.

Why school starts later

The district sited research that says teens need more sleep for a number of reasons including after school jobs, sports, the homework load and family commitments.

Also, experts have found that kids this day and age go to bed later and wake up later. Hasn't that always been the case?

Bottom line: Teenagers need more sleep to function. By the time the last bell of the school day rings kids are pretty tired so adding anything extra is sometimes too much.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I was born in the wrong generation.