As the Pennsbury School District prepares to implement new start times for the 2025-2026 school year, the district said they plan to monitor students and the impacts on them.
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Starting in September 2025, high school classes will run from 8:15 a.m. to 2:58 p.m., middle school from 7:35 a.m. to 2:20 p.m., while elementary school hours will remain unchanged from 9 a.m. to 3:40 p.m., Superintendent Dr. Thomas Smith announced last month.
Elementary school schedules will remain unchanged.
The changes follow recommendations from sleep experts and more than a year of the district mulling over the change.
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“We are working with the Regional Adolescent Sleep Needs Coalition and will be using a survey that’s been used in other districts so we can add to the data that’s been compiled,” Smith said.
The district plans to survey students about their sleep habits three times – in March 2025, fall 2025, and March 2026.
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To measure the impact of the schedule changes, the district will track multiple metrics including attendance, punctuality, and various health indicators such as visits to school nurses, social workers and psychologists, according to Smith.
Athletic performance and injury reports will also be monitored, as some schools have reported improved sports team success after implementing later start times.
The district plans to examine academic performance through several measures including marking period grades for grades 6-12, Keystone exams, PSSA results, and pre-SAT and PSAT scores.
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“We’ll also be looking at our annual climate survey, existing PSSA data from the state, and Pennsbury high school and middle school student surveys,” Smith stated.
To accommodate the new schedule, athletic schedules are being adjusted, and the district is exploring expanding online class offerings up to 12 courses, including physical education, to provide more flexibility for students.
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Both anecdotal feedback and the formal surveys from students and staff regarding their experience with the new schedule will be collected and analyzed by district administration.
Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
A University of Pennsylvania researcher has expressed interest in analyzing the collected data, Smith said.
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The data collection approach mirrors methods used by other school districts that have transitioned to later start times, and Pennsbury hopes to contribute additional insights through their research partnership with the University of Pennsylvania.
States like California and Florida have introduced changes to start times in recent years.
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The American Academy of Pediatrics has recommended that high schools not start before 8:30 a.m., linking earlier start times to increased risks of obesity, depression, and other negative outcomes in teens.
A district-wide survey conducted in 2021 found strong support among parents and students for the shift, with the majority indicating that later start times would help make mornings easier and reduce sleep deprivation among students.
The district plans to continue communicating updates about the transition through emails to the community and will provide more details as implementation approaches, officials said.
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