Q: My son, Brett, stays up late and misses the bus often, so I drive him to school. He's cranky and it's not pleasant. He gets marked tardy, which leads to detention. Our district announced a later start for high schools next year, so I've asked the school to void the detentions. The counselor won't and says it's still Brett's job to get there on time. How is that fair?

A: Seriously, Mom, you're taking helicopter parenting to a new altitude.

That being said, many high schools are responding to research about teens' sleep patterns by starting school later. "With the better-known physical and biological manifestations of puberty often come not so subtle switches in moods and emotions. ... Sleep cycles also change, making young people more nocturnal," says Stephen Gray Wallace, the director of the Center for Adolescent Research and Education.

In a blog post for Psychology Today, he adds: "We've known for a long time that the demands of teens' school, sports and transportation schedules don't exactly line up with what's best for teens' health and safety."

Wallace points to a 2014 University of Minnesota study of 9,000 students, which found that when schools adopted later start times, teens experienced less tardiness, substance abuse and car crashes. Their school attendance, standardized-test scores and overall academic performance improved.

So, yes, going to class later can be better.

But that doesn't mean Brett can't try to get to class on time. The staff and most of his peers do. He can, too.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recommends that teens get 8 1/2 to 9 1/4 hours of sleep every night of the week. So how can Brett achieve that with his school's current schedule?

Try these tips from the NSF and other sleep experts:

-- Establish a consistent sleep schedule and stick with it 7 days a week. Don't allow late nights and "sleeping in" on weekends and vacations.

-- Make sure Brett gets enough exercise, so he is physically tired when he hits the sack.

-- Take technology out of his bedroom. Research shows that having a TV, computer, smartphone or another similar electronic device in the bedroom can disrupt sleep, especially for teen boys.

-- Make Brett aware that lack of sleep not only can cause him to be forgetful and do poorly on assignments, but it also decreases creativity. It can even cause acne, weight gain or other health problems.

-- Check his schedule. Is it too packed? While it's good to be involved in a broad range of activities, being overly committed to clubs, sports, programs or a job shouldn't come at the expense of sleep.

This last tip is very important, writes Wallace: "In reality, sleep issues are not all that are placing our kids at risk of anxiety and depression ... With the best of intentions, adult America has created a society of stress for its young people. It is one in which we have normalized not only irresponsible school start schedules but also an irrational college application and admissions process."

So if Brett's schedule is chock-full, take it down a notch to alleviate his stress and help him get better sleep. For more information, go to sleepfoundation.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My granddaughter, Rena, a senior, wants to attend college. She is a champion tennis player, but has struggled academically because of ADHD. Her ACT score and GPA are low. She was rejected by her college choices. Her counselor offers no encouragement except, "Go to a local community college to get ready for college work." But the schools don't have tennis. She has a great personality and wants to teach. Any suggestions?

A: The counselor's advice is discouraging, but there's no reason that Rena shouldn't be able to graduate college if she's motivated and you put the right plan in place.

Many two- and four-year colleges have highly successful programs for students managing ADHD. You just need to find them. A good place to start is "The K&W Guide to Colleges for Students With Learning Differences, 12th Edition" (The Princeton Review, 2014). It offers profiles of 350 colleges with the best programs for students with ADHD and information on 1,000 others with support services.

The authors, college counselor Marybeth Kravets and psychotherapist Imy Wax, offer tips on how to put that plan in place -- even this late in the game.

First, schedule a meeting with the counselor. Press for more specific support and make sure you get all the information in Rena's complete education file (documentation for establishing ADHD, Individualized Educational Program, results of psycho-educational testing, and so on). Rena will need these when applying for support services at college.

Next, identify some "best match" colleges and visit them. Prepare for the interview: Rena should be able to demonstrate self-awareness by articulating her goals, strengths and weaknesses and describing what accommodations she thinks she needs. She should prepare a list of questions for the interviewer, too.

During campus visits, in addition to taking a guided tour, attending a class, eating a meal, talking with students, etc., make sure to schedule a comprehensive meeting with the college's director of support services.

Have a list of questions ready for the director about everything Rena will need to succeed: Is there flexibility in admissions requirements? Are there remedial or developmental courses to help her make progress in weak areas? What accommodations and supports are available for class, as well as testing and tutoring? Is there an extra fee? Who would Rena be working with and what are their qualifications? What is the success rate and what are the career paths of the program's graduates?

Go ahead and ask about tennis, but don't let Rena use the school's lack of a team as a deal-breaker. "The most important thing for Rena is to get on sound academic footing to realize her goals," says Debbie Perrielli, a Florida youth tennis coach. "In most any college setting she can find players to keep her challenged, or opportunities to coach informally. Her skills won't get rusty."

Rena is fortunate to have you as her champion. Keep encouraging her. "No children choose to be born with learning disabilities or ADHD," write Kravets and Wax. "However, if they hold fast to their dreams and aspirations and look beyond the imperfections and hidden handicaps, they can make things happen for themselves."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: What's happening with the Common Core? Our principal says that it's been implemented in our state, and teachers like it and the students are doing better. But a PTO parent says that the federal government passed a new law to dismantle it. Who's right?

A: Misconceptions about Common Core State Standards (CCSS) die hard. "The feds have never been in charge of standards and they still aren't. That's a state role," says Peter Cunningham, the executive director of Chicago-based nonprofit Education Post and supporter of Common Core. "We've always had standards. These (CCSS) are just more rigorous and better."

These standards were created by the states -- with private dollars -- not the federal government. What prompted the states to do this? Too many students graduating high school weren't ready for college. So states joined together to improve the "college and career readiness" of U.S. students. Over several years, thousands of parents, teachers, researchers, subject-area specialists as well as business, civic, military and policy leaders of all political stripes weighed in. The result is the Common Core. To date, 42 states have adopted CCSS.

Cunningham tracks education trends across the nation for educationpost.org. He finds that "teachers like the new standards because they give them plenty of freedom to teach the way they want and they really encourage critical thinking. The standards are not about rote learning."

He also points out that parents have exacting academic standards for their kids "and they see the benefit of having 'common' standards across state lines."

Louisiana educator Courtney A. Brown explains her support on educationpost.org: "With normalized standards across the country, a child in rural South Dakota is expected to meet the same standards as a child in upstate New York."

An August 2015 Education Post survey evaluated parents' top priorities for their kids' schools. The survey showed that 66 percent of participants support "implementing Common Standards" and 76 percent support "creating higher standards and a more challenging curriculum" in the schools. A plurality of parents think Common Core is working or should be given time to improve.

A May 2015 Education Next survey shows that those who favor the Common Core continue to outnumber opponents by 14 percentage points. The report notes that "the broader public's opposition to the Common Core appears to rest on a shallow factual foundation. Asked whether or not the Common Core is being used in their local school district, fully 58 percent of the members of the public admit that they do not know ... perhaps more startling, 24 percent of residents in states that do not have the Common Core believe their districts are using the standards."

A federal bill that was signed into law last year, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), "prohibits the federal government from mandating Common Core," says Cunningham. "This is essentially meaningless because the federal government was already prohibited from mandating standards. The new law does require rigorous, high standards that prepare students for college and work. So it's all the same thing."

Educator and scholar Dr. Chester Finn challenges folks to actually read the CCSS and find "anything there they don't think kids would be better off learning."

For more information, go to corestandards.org.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)