Madison resident urges later high-school start time citing research on adolescent sleep

MADISON — A Madison resident told the Board of Education during public comment that the district’s 7:20 a.m. Daniel Hand High School start time is “super, super early” for teenagers and urged the board to consider moving start times later.

“My name is Cheryl Triad. I live at 90 Sandalwood Drive in Madison, and I was just wanting to express my concern at the early start time of the high school,” said Cheryl Triad during public comment. Triad cited research and recommendations from professional organizations, including the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychological Association, which recommend later start times for adolescents.

Triad noted examples from other Connecticut communities, saying Staples High School in Westport and New Canaan High School start at 8:00 a.m., Wilton High School at 8:20 a.m., and Old Saybrook moved from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. in 2022. She said Daniel Hand’s 7:20 a.m. start is notably earlier than those districts and that later start times benefit teenage sleep cycles and mood.

Board members accepted the comment during the public participation portion of the meeting; no board action or formal discussion of changing start times occurred during the session. The board’s public-comment guidelines posted at the meeting note that public comment is not a time for discussion and that the administration or board may follow up separately if appropriate.

Triad said she was not proposing an 8:30 a.m. start — the time recommended by some organizations — but asked the board to consider shifting the high-school start time later than 7:20 a.m. The district did not provide a response at the meeting when the comment was made.