The 8:00 AM bell doesn’t care about your DNA — but your brain does. While science proves that teenagers are set up for a later start, the school district remains at a standstill amid the harsh realities of busing schedules and budgets. At Orono, this creates a problem. The system only fits the internal clocks of a few, and forces the rest to learn in a brain fog that the district can’t afford to clear.
At 6:45 AM, the student body is split by biology. For senior Fiona Robertson, the morning is a seamless routine. She gives herself plenty of time to get ready and leave before traffic hits, though she admits her motivation is partly social.
“I don’t want to be late because it’s embarrassing,” Robertson said.
As a natural “Lark,” she is a chronotype whose body gets going early in the morning. At night, she tends to go to bed earlier. Her internal clock is perfectly synced with the sun. By the time she reaches her first-period desk, she is alert and ready to engage.
A few miles away, senior Aidan Kershaw is fighting a battle he is going to lose. As a biological “Wolf,” he has a chronotype that has a lot of trouble getting going in the morning. Work hours, like the basic 9-to-5 or 8-to-3, are difficult for him. Kershaw describes the early morning as an “impossible task.”
Unlike Larks, Wolves have a delay in melatonin production. Their brains don’t tell them to sleep until later in the night, and their brains aren’t the sharpest until the afternoon. He isn’t choosing to sleep in; it is a physical necessity he cannot fight. By the time he finally walks in the door toward the front desk, the “unexcused” mark is glowing on his attendance photo.
“I feel like a number,” Kershaw said. “One in a diamond dozen.”
According to psychology teacher Mrs. Ibs, this isn’t a matter of willpower. It’s a matter of biology.
“Biology is really working against middle school and high school students,” Ibs said.
She points to the chronotype, which is connected to the body’s circadian rhythm and dictates when a person feels awake or sleepy. While the Lark and Wolf labels are often used, researchers also include “Bears.” The Bears like to follow the sun. Then there are also “Dolphins” who do not sleep well and often have trouble sleeping.
During puberty, this rhythm shifts by roughly 2 hours. Ibs notes that while it is often easy for elementary students to wake up early, “it becomes really challenging for a teenager.” Internal sleep cues like melatonin often won’t activate until later at night, making an 8:00 AM start a major biological hurdle. When students are forced to learn while their bodies are still in a sleep state, the consequences are evident.
“It affects everything,” Ibs said. “They lose focus, they are not motivated, and they have trouble remembering things.”
If the science is so clear, why hasn’t anything changed?
Superintendent Dr. Flesher describes the situation as a puzzle with no easy solution. The district must balance student health research against the demands of a school system.
“Students come first,” Flesher says.
But serving students from age five to eighteen requires trade‑offs. A later high school start time could require more buses — and a significantly larger transportation budget. There are also safety concerns: many parents do not want their youngest children waiting for buses in the early morning darkness.
Flesher mentions that if school starts later, many activities and sports practices would happen earlier in the morning. This way, they will not go later into the evening. As a result, students would still be forced to wake up at the same early hour regardless, defeating the purpose of a later start time intended to help children get more sleep.
“Someone has to go first,” Flesher said.
For now, the system quietly favors those whose biology matches the bell. Larks find it easier to stay engaged, while Wolves navigate their hardest classes in a haze they didn’t choose.
While Mrs. Ibs believes that a 9:00 AM start would be better for student health, the district remains unsure. For now, the bell will remain at 8:00. The question remains: how can a school system balance logistical demands with the diverse biological needs of its students?