MEDIA ADVISORY from the San Diego Unified School District

 

Friday, April 26, 2019

 

MEDIA ADVISORY: San Diego Unified schedules press conference to announce public meetings in advance of Healthy Start Time launch

 

WHAT:  Press conference to announce informational public meetings, with John Lee Evans, Board of Education Vice President; Chuck Podhorsky, La Jolla High School Principal; and Dr. Howard Taras, District Physician

 

WHEN:  Friday, April 26, 2019, noon

 

WHERE:  La Jolla High School, 750 Nautilus St., La Jolla 92037

 

DETAILS:  Beginning in May, San Diego Unified will hold Healthy Start Cluster Engagement meetings for parents, teachers, and community members to learn about Healthy Start Times. District officials will be present at the Healthy Start Cluster Engagement meetings to answer questions. The meetings will be held on various dates and at different locations through the month of May.

 

Background:  San Diego Unified is excited to announce the next steps in the implementation of Healthy Start Times, an important initiative that promotes health, safety, and emotional well-being of our students through research-based practices.

 

Three district campuses will launch an early implementation of the Healthy Start Times initiative in the 2019-20 academic year: La Jolla High School, the School of Creative and Performing Arts, and Muirlands Middle School.  

 

This follows the February 12, 2019, adoption by the San Diego Unified Board of Education of a Resolution to implement Healthy Start Times for all high school students in the 2020-21 academic year. High school start times will vary from 8:35 a.m. to 9:05 a.m.

There is overwhelming scientific evidence on the benefits of Healthy Start Times for the two-thirds of teenagers that are sleep deprived, including improvements in academic performance, behavior, and physical and emotional health. Numerous scientific organizations including the American Medical Association, American Association of Pediatrics, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Sleep Foundation and the American Psychological Association, have defined Healthy Start Times for secondary students as no earlier than 8:30 a.m.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Maureen Magee, Communications Director, 619-381-7930

Please confirm attendance in advance.