District 181 middle schools, Hinsdale Middle School (HMS) and Clarendon Hills Middle School (CHMS), plan to push back the start and end times of each school day by 30 minutes for the 2017-18 school year.

About two-thirds of the 1,061 parents who completed a survey are in favor of the middle schools to begin at 8:25 a.m. and finish at 3:15 p.m. However, the majority of the District 181 staff voted for no change in times.

“We have to make sure with any change that parents still would have enough time to drop off their kids at different schools in the district and that it would work for people in the community who take the train,” said Don White, superintendent, to the Chicago Tribune.

The main reason for the change in time is due to the research from The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) that shows later school days allow students to catch up on sleep and perform better in school. Therefore, AAP recommends that schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

“Having a later start to the school day would be awesome. I would be able to get much more sleep, which would help me focus better in my classes. I don’t mind the school day lasting later in the afternoon, as long as I can sleep in more,” said Megan Nash, HMS seventh-grader.

The new time change in D181 middle schools will allow students to catch up on sleep, but also get them accustomed to the late-start Mondays at Central at 8:50 a.m.