The Destruction

of Flex
By: Jocelyn Ortiz
Mini Quiz
Do you get enough sleep?

Do you think school starts too early?

What my Project is about
FLEX PERIOD

Goal: In an effort to Improve

academic performance and increase
mental health, Flex will be removed
and the 40 minutes be used to delay
the school start time.
Why this Topic?
● Multiple students are sleep
deprived
● Always hear friends talking about
mental health and school
● Well known that students are late
to school
● Who wouldn’t want a later start
time?
Digging deeper...
STEP ONE: Remove flex period from
students schedules to increase mental
health of students.
● Needs to be removed from
system
● Will give 40 mins spare time
● Not living up to its potential
● Skyward
● Needs approval by district
Digging Deeper...
In a survey conducted at Brighton
High School by Jocelyn Ortiz, the data
showed that the average amount of
sleep students get each night is 5.5
hours (Ortiz).

● 3 hours less than recommended

● Main reason: Homework
How would evidence be measured
● Not having a flex. Assigned would
allow a delayed school start time,
creating more time for students
to arrive
● Evidence will be gathered by
evaluating how often students
show up late to school. They
would compare the 2020-2021 in
one trimester to next years.
Digging deeper...
STEP TWO: Delay School Start Time by
40 Minutes so that school begins at
8:25am.

● Canyons district would need to

approve
● Parents need to be consulted
● Would get students energized
and ready for school day
Digging deeper...
Interview held by Jocelyn Ortiz at Brighton High, She asked a student, “Do you
believe that your academic performance Increases as you receive more sleep?”
-“Yes I would be able to work faster and be more efficient in school” -Miah Spaulding
(Amateur)
“Do you believe the original purpose of flex gas been demonstrated, why or why
not?”
-“No, COVID made us teachers too busy, couldn’t organize flex how we intended it to
be.” - Christiana Forbush (Expert)
How would this evidence be measured
● Tracking students’ academic
performance
● GPA averages (anonymous) will
be gathered throughout the
school year and analyzed at the
end of each trimester to see
growth
● Compare it to previous years
(specifically 2020-2021) since we
have FLEX now.
Digging deeper...
STEP THREE: Adjust student schedules at Brighton
High school to match the later start time.

● States have a requirement for instructional

time (5.5 hours)
● Add 5 mins to each class (2:50 release time)
● 66 mins class periods, no flex, delayed start.
● Canyon district approval needed
● Have tech support Skyward to match online
schedules
● Could use another school’s schedule for
reference
Digging deeper
According to the sleep foundation, “Prolonged sleep loss May negatively affect
emotional development, increasing risks for interpersonal conflict as well as
more serious mental health problems” (Suni).

● Higher risk of Anxiety and Depression.

According to the author, teens need an average of 8 to 10 hours of sleep, but

as many as 69% of high schoolers get less than that (Suni).

“teens' natural biological sleep clock starts around 11pm to midnight and ends
around 8/9 am” (Suni).
How would this evidence be measured
● Students mental health would
increase
● Students would be asked
anonymously whether they feel
like their mental health has
improved compared to previous
years
● Analyzed it at every end of
trimester.
Mini Quiz
● What is the average amount of sleep students receive (from survey)?
● What is the biggest factor in students going to bed late?
● What is teenagers’ biological time for getting tired?
● How long would class periods be according to the plan?
Sources
Forbush, Christiana. Personal Interview, 7 May 2021

Jocelyn Ortiz. Necessity of Flex Survey. Salt Lake City, Utah: Brighton High School. 2 May 2021. Web.

Spaulding, Miah. Personal Interview, 7 May 2021

Suni, Eric. Sleep for Teenagers. 5 Aug. 2020, www.sleepfoundation.org/teens-and-sleep. Accessed 01 April 2021