The first bell echoes off the bricked hallways of Lindbergh High School in Renton, Washington, warning dazed and coffee-clutching students to pick up their pace. It’s December. It’s 7:15 a.m. It’s still dark outside. Yet, in five minutes, they are expected to be sitting in class, alert, and ready to learn.
Despite Seattle, Tacoma, and other neighboring school districts delaying their middle and high school start times in recent years, the Renton School District has yet to budge.
“It is inhumane,” says Alyssa Shewey, a teacher at the school. Yet a very early morning arrival is a common ask for teenagers in the U.S., with more than 40% of high schools starting before 8 a.m.
Read more at Time Magazine.
