Evergreen to change high school start times in 2016-17

Clark County's largest school district, Evergreen Public Schools, announced today that it will change the start times for high-schoolers next year after studies have shown teens need more sleep. Evergreen, Heritage, Mountain View and Union high schools will start at 8:40 a.m. and dismiss at 3:10 p.m. starting next fall. The current school day is 7:45 a.m. to 2:15 p.m. Elementary and middle school start times will be adjusted a few minutes to mesh with the new high school bell schedule. In a news release, Superintendent John Deeder said the change is being made after studies suggested a later start time better fits teenage sleep patterns. "Our goal for high school students is to have zero dropouts. With our current on-time graduation rate at 83.4 percent, we are looking at ways to further close the gap. Research shows that by shifting start times at the high school level, missed days and tardiness is reduced and academic success improves," said Deeder in a statement. With 27,000 students, Evergreen is Washington's fifth-largest school district. This story will be updated.