2nd Lower Bucks High School Changing Schedule For 2025-2026 Year

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —Get ready for "Tiger Time."

Harry S. Truman High School in Bristol Township will have a revamped daily class schedule that eliminates an entire class period in the 2025-26 school year.

But that doesn't mean the high school will get out earlier or start later as another Lower Bucks County school district has decided.

Last month, the Pennsbury School District announced that it would change the start times at its high school campus starting in September 2025.

Pennsbury school officials said the move was being made to change the start time to 8 a.m. from the current 7:20 a.m. to help improve student well-being and academic performance.

For Bristol Township, classes will be about 4-5 minutes longer, school officials said.

But students will have a daily free-time period — “Tiger Time” — which can be used as a student decides, said Kellie Dietrich, the school district's spokeswoman.

“It’s kind of like study hall,” Dietrich said. “Students are getting more free choice with what they can do with this Tiger Time. "They’re not just doing homework. They can use it to do other things that they want to do.”

The school district will hold a town hall explainer session from 6-7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 14, on Google Meet to review the schedule changes.

Dietrich said that the district's administration hopes to improve academic achievement with the new schedule.

Students can use "Tiger Time" for “remediation” in classes they find difficult, or they can use the time to meet with college recruiters or for “activities geared towards developing their goals for post-high school life,” according to a post to the district’s web page.

"The goal (is) to provide time and the ability for students to get intervention that needed it and opportunities for innovative educational experiences and enrichment (dual enrollment, seeing college counselors, differentiated instruction) for students that do not," said Rob Findlay, the district's supervisor for secondary curriculum and instruction. "After working through multiple concepts, this proposed schedule for (the 2025-26 school year) captures the needs of the students without sacrificing instructional time that our teaching staff would be working with students."

Under the revamped schedule, Truman’s school day still begins at 7:13 a.m. and ends at 2:13 p.m.

The lunch period will drop from 48 minutes to 31 minutes, Dietrich said.

With one class eliminated, requirements for graduation will drop from 25 credits to 22, according to the school district. This drop in credits affects only students graduating in 2026 and beyond.

"The state does not mandate a specific number of credits, however, in order to satisfy the requirements of a high school diploma, it is generally accepted that 21 credits is the minimum requirement," Findley said. "The state is encouraging schools to achieve that while integrating approaches that allow for innovative educational opportunities such as dual enrollment and work experience programs. The second part of this schedule change is designed to promote that initiative."