The State College Area School District's board of directors has approved changes to the school day. The board voted 8-to-1 to lengthen the elementary school day by 44 minutes. The current day length is one of the shortest in the state, and the change is meant to give teachers more time for core instruction. Superintendent Bob O'Donnell called it "a monumental step forward, having a lasting impact on generations of our community’s youth."
The middle and high school day length will stay the same, but it will shift later to an 8:40 a.m. starting time. The change is to allow for two waves of busing and to better align with adolescent sleep patterns.
The changes will cost just under one-and-a-half million dollars a year for transportation and more teachers, and an additional startup cost of $450,000.
