Lifetime Citizen Portal Access — AI Briefings, Alerts & Unlimited Follows
Preliminary data: later Pennsbury start times correlate with fewer absences and tardies, board hears
Loading...
Summary
At its April 16 meeting, the Pennsbury School Board heard preliminary data covering the first 108 days after a start-time change showing a 13% drop in absences and a 24% drop in tardies districtwide, while some middle-school metrics rose; administrators said a May survey and further analysis will follow.
At its April 16 meeting, the Pennsbury School Board heard preliminary data showing that districtwide absences fell 13% and tardies declined 24% in the first 108 days after the district adjusted school start times.
"Year over year attendance, we've seen a decrease in absences, 13% year over year," Dr. Smith told the board as he presented interim figures the district compiled for the first 108 days of the school year. He said total tardies dropped from about 19,000 the prior year to roughly 14,000 in the same period after the schedule change.
The presentation highlighted other mixed effects. Dr. Smith said ninth-grade winter algebra keystone scores improved by 22%, and pre-SAT participation or impact rose about 4%. High-school health-room illness visits were down 19% and homesickness visits declined 10%. However, the report showed middle-school absences increased by about 4% and middle-school tardiness rose 28%.
Dr. Smith emphasized the preliminary nature of the findings and cautioned that "there could be other reasons for these increases" in some subgroups. He told the board the administration will run a May survey of students, staff and parents to collect additional sentiment and contextual data before recommending any policy changes.
Students who spoke during the meeting described benefits from later start times. A student identified in the record as Nivi said, "I generally think that the late start times have provided a lot of, like, clarity in the morning," and that students reported being more rested and alert.
Board members noted ongoing operational challenges tied to the change — particularly transportation and after-school athletics — and thanked transportation staff for adjusting routes. Dr. Smith said the district will continue to monitor outcomes, add the May survey results to the dataset, and expect a fuller comparison after a year of post-change data.
Next steps: the district will conduct the promised May survey and return to the board with additional analysis before considering further schedule adjustments.
