Crier wants to know: do you prefer late starts or early dismissals?

Every couple of Tuesdays we have a late start day, where students have ample time to sleep in, go grab some coffee before school, and spend some more time getting ready than usual. Every couple of months we have early dismissal days, where class periods whisk by, and students have more time left in their days to hang out with friends, catch up on homework, or get some well-needed relaxation time. The Crier staff interviewed Conant staff and students to put the two shortened days head to head: late start vs. early dismissal. 

Sneha Bhalla, ‘27

Sneha Bhalla, ‘27

“As a night owl, my immediate answer would be late start – but once I begin to think about it, I would probably choose early dismissal. For most people, including me, the time that school usually starts dictates the time you wake up. You usually wake up with enough time to do your morning routine. When it’s a late start, people waste that extra time before the school day sleeping (I know that from experience). Then that’s more time out of their day gone. If we had an early dismissal, then people would already be awake and done with their school day and would have more time to maybe complete their homework, do something fun with friends, or if they want to, get some extra sleep. So for me, there are more pros for an early dismissal than there is for a late start.”

Daisha Brunson, ‘26

“I would have to choose the late start. The extra hour makes a huge difference. I can stay up later and wake up feeling energized. In the morning I have time to have a good breakfast or even go to Starbucks. Late starts just make the school day go by faster and give us a little break I feel we all need.”

Anna Drone, ‘25

Anna Drone, ‘25

“As much as I love sleeping in, I definitely would prefer having early dismissals. Every night I struggle to find time for myself in the midst of doing hours of homework. Most nights, once homework is done I go straight to bed. Having early dismissals would give me more me time and potential for more sleep if needed.”

Eva Krakowski, ‘24

Eva Krakowski, ‘24

“When I first received this question, I looked at it on both ends. On one hand, I love sleeping in but on the other, I’m more productive when I come home early from school. After thinking about this question further I realized that most early dismissal days don’t make a difference to my schedule because I myself, just like many other students, have a schedule that revolves around sports. If we have an early dismissal I still go to practice right after we finish whether that be the time of the early dismissal or at our usual time of 3:30. When I think of late starts I am always relieved to know I have a little over an hour to sleep in or study before school starts. This is always helpful when my schedule gets overwhelming from late games to early practices. Late starts add a sense of comfort to my usually hectic schedule; therefore, I would rather have late starts.”

Señora Doan, World Language Department

“Professionally I prefer a late start. I prefer to start the day with staff development rather than end the day with it. I feel like I have more energy and enthusiasm to get work done at the start of the day, rather than at the end of the day. I also like that my students come into a late start happy, that they were able to sleep in a little bit.” 

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