Dear Superintendent Culp and Members of the Grandview Heights School District School Board,

We respectfully request your consideration of a one time late start for the school district on January 13, 2015. As you may know, on the night of Monday, January 12th, Ohio State will play Oregon for the College Football National Championship. This is the first time since January 2008 that Ohio State will play in the National Championship Game and it will draw large interest from the local community.

According to a study by American Pediatrics, students need 9 ½ hours of sleep to perform well academically. Students who support and watch Ohio State playing for this national championship title will only get 4-5 hours of sleep. School districts in similar situations have changed school start times to support their team and student learning. In February 2009, the Pittsburgh Public Schools took a late start the day after the Steelers played in the Super Bowl(link below), and the Super Bowl starts much earlier than the NCAA Football National Championship game.

http://www.post-gazette.com/breaking/2009/01/29/City-schools-to-have-2-hour-delay-day-after-Super-Bowl/stories/200901290297

In addition to a high percentage of students being Ohio State fans, many teachers and parents are Ohio State alumni and/or supporters of the Ohio State football team. Because much of the Grandview Heights & Marble Cliff residents will be up late watching this historic community event, we respectfully ask for your consideration of a one time late start for the entire school district on January 13th, 2015, the morning after the game.