Wissahickon schools considering new start times for 2023-24

The Wissahickon School District is considering new start times for the 2023-24 school year.

In the 2021-2022 school year, the Board of School Directors formally adopted a District Goal to examine revised school start and end times with the goal of providing additional sleep time for secondary students.

Leading health organizations indicate that middle and high school students benefit physically, socially, emotionally and academically with adequate sleep (8.5-9.5 hours) and recommend that the school day start no earlier than 8:30am.

With the input of students, staff, families and community members, the district developed two final options that are currently under consideration in addition to the option of maintaining our current schedule. Two additional options, which proposed that elementary schools start earlier, were eliminated from further consideration based on community feedback, as well as the higher cost of additional busing needs.

If approved by the School Board, new start times would go into effect at the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.

This website section serves as a collective place to gather and share out all information related to this district initiative. Periodically, the district will update these webpages as new resources and information are available.