Shorter School Day For Centennial Elementary Students Next Year

WARMINSTER, PA —The Centennial School District will institute an enhanced elementary schedule next year that includes a new start time of 9 a.m., school officials said.

Schools Superintendent Dana Bedden said CSD's Enhanced Elementary Schedule was approved by the school board at a meeting last month. The new schedule goes into effect on Thursday, Aug. 24, the first day of the 2023-2024 school year.

An informational presentation for parents and guardians will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 25, in the William Tennent High School auditorium. The presentation will share the improvements the district is making for its elementary students.

The superintendent said the changes are designed to create:

• A better balance of academics, fun, and brain breaks throughout the school day.
• A structured academic intervention period to provide students with mathematics and reading intervention (extension, rehearsal, remediation) based on their individual needs.
• Dedicated time for community building (morning meeting, quiet time, and closing circle)

A shortened student day will be accomplished by moving the start time from 8:45 a.m. to 9 a.m. This new schedule will change the student's drop-off time, moving from 8:25 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.

Nate Ross, the district's communications and marketing specialist, said that a committee met throughout the school year and used a design thinking framework to identify opportunities to improve the elementary schedule and provide better student outcomes.

The committee finalized a proposal for an upgraded elementary schedule, which was presented to the Board Education Committee on April 12 and the school board at its April 25 meeting. The process also included parental feedback using the district's ThoughtExchange system.

The school district has included a sample student schedule that provides a visual representation of the schedule upgrades. School officials said the class sequence will vary by grade level in terms of the sample schedule.