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Pennsbury staff outline plan to shift high‑school start time and expand virtual class options

Pennsbury School District Board of Education · February 21, 2025

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Summary

District staff reported the board previously supported moving high schools to an 8:15 a.m. start and described plans for three pooled student sleep‑survey administrations and expansion of virtual course offerings up to 12 classes, with metrics defined to evaluate outcomes.

District leadership told the board that start‑time changes under consideration include a high‑school start of 8:15 a.m., a middle‑school start of 7:35 a.m., and retention of current elementary start times. The administration said the board previously supported a move for the high school to start at 8:15 next year with a corresponding end time and that middle schools would begin at 7:35.

Staff outlined a plan for data collection and evaluation: students will complete a standardized sleep survey in March (one administration this school year), again in the fall, and again in March 2026 to create multi‑point longitudinal data. The district reported interest from a University of Pennsylvania researcher to analyze the data. Athletic and extracurricular schedules will be adjusted and the district intends to use attendance, nurse visits, referrals to social workers and psychologists, athletic injury reports, climate surveys, state assessments and marking‑period grades to evaluate success.

The student representative also summarized a student survey about virtual classes: roughly 10% reported taking or having taken virtual classes while 65% indicated awareness of the option; students suggested math, history and English as strong candidates for virtual delivery but listed concerns about attention and teacher interaction.

No formal board vote on start‑time changes occurred at the meeting; staff presented next steps for additional surveys and continued planning.

Next steps: the district will administer the planned surveys, coordinate with athletics and consult the University of Pennsylvania researcher on data analysis for a future decision timeline.