Starting this year, North Atlanta High School starts at 8:30 AM, instead of the previous 8:45 AM. Among many moans and groans from both students and bus drivers due to the fifteen minute loss of sleep in the morning, there are deeper issues with this new start. Private schools close by, such as Wesminster and Lovett, start school at the same time, which means one thing: Traffic! Students not only have to leave their house early to avoid the late bell, but also the miles of traffic occupied by road ragers.
Students live anywhere from five minutes to over 30 minutes away from NAHS. Whether on a bus or in a car, the commute to school is certainly a struggle this year. The fifteen minute cushion these past years have allowed private schools students to clear out, leaving little to no traffic for NAHS students. Although adults were still rushing to work around that time, traffic was nothing compared to how atrocious it is this year. Students who live a mile down the road, such as junior Julia Havey, are now met with mass amounts of traffic. What should be under a five minute drive, turns into 25 minutes. “I miss the luxury of waking up fifteen minutes before school starts and still being on time,” said Havey.
Among the many tardy passes that are distributed in the morning, many of them are the bright yellow bus passes. Bus drivers experience that same, dreadful traffic that students and parents experience. This unfortunate time adjustment was required because of issues with bus routes; however, many buses now arrive late every morning. Among many other bus riders at NAHS, junior Meredith Butler experiences late arrival daily. “It is exhausting to have to wait in line and miss important material every morning,” said Butler.
On the contrary, some teachers here at NAHS have experienced positive effects as a result of the time jump. Other than a need for an extra cup of coffee, most teachers are avoiding traffic in the morning. Staff such as AP Language and Composition teacher, Dandra Mcphail, live over an hour away from school, however he arrives on time everyday. “I am beating the rush because schools near me start a little bit later,” said Mcphail, “ Last year, I used to be late basically everyday”.
Between blaring horns ringing through ears all morning long and the growing list of tardies in infinite campus, this adjustment has been exasperating. Fifteen minutes has a much larger impact than many would expect.
