Citing “an increasing body of research” that recommends a later school start-time for adolescents, Pennsbury High School has announced its day will begin at 8 a.m. instead of the current 7:20 a.m. at the beginning of the 2025 school year.
The change aims to help students “better manage their mornings,” enhance alertness and improve academic performance, said Superintendent Thomas A. Smith. He said a change has been under consideration by the district for several years.
“This is due to an increasing body of research that raises concerns with a high school start time prior to 8 a.m.,” said Smith. “At 7:20 a.m., Pennsbury High School starts earlier than most schools in the area.”
Start times at elementary schools will not change, according to the superintendent, but middle school times “will move up slightly.”
Over the coming 17 months until the new start-time begins at the high school, the district will make adjustments to its transportation schedule, after-school activities and overall high school schedule, according to Smith. In addition, the district will hold informational sessions on the changes and “anticipated benefits,” he said.
The Pennsbury School Start Time Committee over the past several years has studied a time change and, in its rationale, found “that mounting scientific evidence reveals that chronic adolescent sleep loss has become a public health issue.” It said the American Academy of Pediatricts, American Psychological Association and the National Sleep Foundation “all recommend later school start times for adolescent students.”
The change at Pennsbury comes at a time when other states – like in California and Florida — are seeing times altered.
