TESD OKs New Start, End Times For 2019-2020 School Year

TREDYFFRIN-EASTTOWN, PA — After months of work, the Tredyffrin Easttown School District will have new start and end times at all its schools in the 2019-2020 school year.

The district's board approved the new times at its Monday meeting.

Below are the new times for the district:

• High School — 7:50 a.m. to 2:50 p.m. (currently 7:20 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.)
• Middle Schools — 8:27 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. (currently 7:50 a.m. to 2:33 p.m.)
• Elementary Schools — 9:10 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. (currently 8:45 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.)

During the 2016-2017 school year, the Tredyffrin/Easttown School Board and administration starting looking at research on the science of adolescent sleep and the benefits of later school start times.

In September 2018, the board approved a goal to assess the impact of potential strategies for addressing adolescent sleep needs, including the implications for school start times.

Through a series of meetings, the School Board Education Committee developed a school start time scenario that could be implemented for the 2019-2020 school year.

In March, the district launched a survey to get feedback from district parents, middle and high school students, and staff members on the new school start time options. More than 7,000 responses were filed.

Between now and the start of the 2019-2020 school year, the district will be working on the adjustments needed for a smooth transition to the new start times.

In the coming months, information about the new start times will be shared with parents through targeted communication from the schools and the district.