Upper Darby details 2026–27 redistricting, says 364 students could lose bus eligibility under more precise distance rules

Upper Darby School District administrators presented the planned catchment-zone and feeder-pattern changes for the 2026–27 school year that will follow the previously announced closure (sunsetting) of Charles Kelley Elementary and the opening of Clifton Heights Middle School. The presentation included a new, parcel‑based method for calculating walking distance that administrators said will remove bus service for hundreds of students and add service for a handful.

Manager of data and information Dr. Tim Lambert walked the committee through the technical definitions and the district’s rationale. “Catchment zones…are geographic areas that define which neighborhood school a student would attend based on their home address,” he said while explaining maps and street-level shifts the district will publish for families.

Why it matters: the board’s earlier decision to close Charles Kelley set in motion a redistricting plan that administrators say will better align students to neighborhood schools and relieve overcrowding at certain middle schools; the plan also changes transportation eligibility and will affect daily routines for families.

Major elements of the plan

- Catchment and feeder…