Changes in policy and practice that impact our bodies’ daily rhythms can be a tough sell in school. To wit, consider the articles in this theme issue on school time and school schedules by Max McGee and Alan Wechsler.

McGee describes the heated challenges to his elimination of an early-morning academic period appended to the school day at a high school in Palo Alto, Calif., where he was superintendent at the time. McGee was looking out for the physical health and mental well-being of students, but families with high ambitions for their children’s competitive college pursuits weren’t necessarily hearing that message or buying into his decision.

Wechsler, a freelance education writer, details the strenuous planning and execution that took place in a handful of school systems that somehow succeeded to do what many other school communities would love to do — roll back the start times of their secondary schools in accord with adolescent sleep research.

The common thread running through these accounts is the strength of system leadership in carrying out formidable change. It’s a quality always worth illustrating in these pages