Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
JOURN 200W
Localizing Memo
10 March 2014
I found an article in the NY Times health section titled “To Keep Teenagers
Alert, Schools Let Them Sleep In” that discussed the benefits of high schools starting
later, enabling teenagers to get more sleep. One girl let a campaign to get her school to
If this idea spread to the NYC Public School System many factors would come
into play. Would the start time be city mandated? How might this affect the
schedules? All these questions are the beginnings of a potential local story.
Transportation might be the biggest question at hand. NYC public school children
ride buses and subways to get to and come home from school. At 7 AM the Q25 from
Jamaica to Flushing is stuffed to the brim with a mix of students and working commuters.
A later starting time might result in less crowding. This could be supplemented with
statistics on how many students use public transportation during rush hour. However, this
could negatively impact the evening commute. If students are let out later, they might
The next pertinent issue would be the impact on parents. A later starting time
would put the parents of younger children in a bind. Although if this was confined to
merely high schools this might be less of an issue. A reporter could talk to local Queens
based parents and get their overall opinion on the topic. Are parents comfortable leaving
their children to sleep while they go to work? Do their children have trouble getting up in
the morning at all? Do their children partake in sports in which practices might be
A local article could also utilize data on test scores in correlation to starting times.
The reporter might want to meet with someone on the NYC public school
educational board and propose what the research in the national article presented to get
the official’s view on it. They could also talk to Queens students to get candid remarks on