Even though high schoolers need at least 8 hours of sleep per night, over three in four high schoolers are classified as having insufficient sleep schedules. Unsurprisingly, students who sleep less than they should tend to struggle with attention and cognitive retention for the rest of the day.
Spokane’s school district sought to change that for their students. Over the past year, district leaders have pulled a few easy levers in the hopes of transforming community norms. The primary mechanism? Elevating the issue consistently during conversations with parents.
The district has already built the foundation for a more holistic approach to childhood. Last year, it banned cell phones in elementary and middle schools and forbade them during class periods for high schoolers. At the same time, it dramatically expanded student clubs and afterschool activities, giving students positive outlets for their new phone-less energy.
Teachers and other employees are paid to run the district’s afterschool activities like cooking classes, casual sports, and welding clubs, funded in large part by a three-year, $3.4 million donation from a local nonprofit organization. The district’s recent boom in nonacademic programming promotes discovery and connection, and hopefully will be pared down sustainably once the outside money stream runs thin. In the meantime, the goal is for this push to transform classroom and community norms. The district has seen a drop in chronic absenteeism and an increase in academic achievement.
Now, Spokane is educating families about practical strategies to use at home that can protect their children’s sleep schedules. Back to school nights, district podcasts, and teacher meetings all feature the dissemination of information about the importance of quality sleep and tips for how parents can help. The most widely shared request was that of parental supervision. Parents, Spokane noted, should make sure that there is a buffer of 30-60 minutes of no screen time before a child heads off to bed. The district is backing parents up by education the students themselves on the importance of quality sleep during instructional time.
The district is happy with the results of the push, even though not every rebellious teen has succumbed to more slumber. They hope that more insomniacs will turn off their phones at night as district norms continue to change.
Spokane’s push for healthy sleep schedules illustrates the strong “soft power” a district can wield if they choose. Holistic pedagogy means that parents have to be involved collaborators with the school as their children grow. This model of collective buy-in empowers strong parenting and helps to create strong students.
