The students of St. Louis U. High are taking note of the frequent late starts that have happened during the first quarter. Late starts are scheduled twice a month on B days, and have more significance than just letting students get a needed extra hour of sleep. Assistant Principal for Academics Kevin Foy provided the Prep News with insight into what happens while students are sleeping in.

“It is very difficult to carve out time for the adults to get together, meet, do their research and make decisions when students are in the building because we want to help students run clubs and help students with academics,” said Foy.

Late starts are the perfect solution for this problem since the school is mostly empty during the morning of late starts. This does not mean that the teachers can do whatever they want; however, they are busy with other commitments. 

“Every month, one late start is for the full faculty to get together and meet, and the other is for separate departments to get together and meet,” said Foy. 

Another option to doing late starts is the early dismissal schedule used in past years. Upperclassmen who are fans of the early dismissal schedule might be wondering why they have been non-existent so far this year. Foy warns that they are becoming a thing of the past.

“If we're going to have a late start or early dismissal, we think late starts make more sense. Everyone likes to sleep in or have breakfast, and with so many guys being student-athletes, early dismissal really puts coaches in a bind or gives these students nothing to do,” said Foy. “During early dismissal, (librarian Lynne) Casey has the library closed for meetings and the Commons is closed for meetings, so there’s nowhere for students to go, whereas coming to school a little bit later typically works better.”

The consensus of most students is that late starts are very beneficial. Having homerooms start at 9:45 instead of 8:30 gives students more time to sleep, catch up on homework, eat a big breakfast, or anything else with the extra time. 

“The extra hour of sleep does make a difference in my energy at school. In a crazy week, it can be very refreshing to have a night where you can sleep more. Instead of nearly falling asleep in the first period, I am able to engage more in class discussions,” said junior Cal Kreuter. 

The extra hour that students get in the morning results in no Studium on late start days, and even though late starts give kids an extra hour of free time in the morning, some would rather skip the late start and keep the schedule the way it is. 

“The fact that there is no Studium on late start days forces me to do my homework at night, which can be overwhelming. I’d rather just wake up at the same time so I have less work to do at night,” said junior Parker Guthrie.

The next late start is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 19.