A new bell schedule means more sleep for high schoolers in Beaverton [Video]

Many teenagers are all too familiar with the struggle of waking up in time for their first class when it’s still dark outside in the dead of winter.

The Beaverton School District has taken notice.

When students return to school Aug. 26, the start time for all Beaverton high schools will be an hour later than last year. Most high schoolers will now begin classes at 8:45 a.m., with students released at 3:30 p.m.

Beaverton’s decision to change high school start times comes in response to feedback from families and amid significant evidence that teenagers are biologically wired to stay up late and then sleep in.

The change will impact elementary and middle schools because the same buses serve multiple school levels.

More than 60% of the district’s 38,000 students ride the bus to school, according to the district, and buses also serve programs like career and technical education, athletics and special education. So, to make the transportation puzzle pieces fit together, Beaverton is also changing the schedules for …