January 17, 2025
Dear Pennsbury School Community,
The Pennsbury School District has been investigating changing school start times since 2018 with the goal of starting our high school later. This is due to an increasing body of research* that indicates high school students benefit from starting school after 8:00 am. You can find some history regarding our work on our website here.
Last spring, the Pennsbury School Board approved moving forward with time changes for Pennsbury High School and Pennsbury Middle Schools beginning in September of 2025. The final school start and end times for September of 2025 are as follows:
- High School 8:15 a.m. - 2:58 p.m.
- Middle School 7:35 a.m. - 2:20 p.m.
- Elementary School times stay the same (9:00 a.m. - 3:40 p.m.)
Our Transportation and Athletics Departments have been involved throughout the planning process. Details will be shared in the coming weeks; however, we want to share the times as soon as possible to assist you in your planning.
I am excited to continue the work of my predecessors and support Pennsbury’s commitment to doing what is in the best interests of students.
Sincerely,
Thomas A. Smith, Ed.D.
Superintendent of Schools
[email protected]
215-428-4111
*Dr. Mendelbaum is a pediatrician with Princeton Nassau Pediatrics and is chairman of the department of pediatrics for Penn Medicine Princeton Health. He is the chair of the Task Force on Adolescent Sleep and School Start Times for the New Jersey Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He gave a presentation at PHS in October of 2021 and to the Board in April, 2024. You can view the full presentation here.