State High will adjust its bell schedule beginning on March 30, school administration announced on March 25. Through the end of the school year on June 5, the high school’s instructional day will run from 8:40 a.m. until 3:45 p.m., an addition of five minutes.
The decision was made by a committee of district officials after the State College Area School District (SCASD) experienced a “unique” four snow days, prompting a need for additional instructional time to meet state requirements.
The committee encompassed at least the superintendent, assistant superintendents, transportation department, school administrators, and the presidents of the three unions working in the district. Those unions are the State College Area Education Association, commonly known as the teachers’ union, the State College Educational Support Personnel Association (SCESPA) for support staff, and the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), which represents district bus drivers, custodians, and some food service employees.
Assistant Principal Brett Wilson rationalized the decision by referencing state requirements, goals of keeping the graduation date and the last day of school on June 5, and the surprise of having a snow day on March 17.
“It’s a unique issue to have to deal with. I appreciate not just throwing a day on again because people made plans, and we have those hard deadlines, like I said before, of graduation,” Wilson said. “Is it ideal? No. Is it better than adding a day on? I think so.”
There is a precedent for adding time to the school day. Park Forest Middle School experienced extreme flooding in 2016 and closed for three days. The discrepancy in instructional time was resolved by adding time to the remaining school days at just Park Forest Middle School to keep them in line with the rest of the district.
However, that was just one school. 2025-26 is the first year SCASD has extended the school day since the mid 2010s, when Craig Butler was the principal and State High did not have block scheduling.
In all secondary schools, the school day will now be from 8:40 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., and in all elementary schools, the day will now last from 8:10 a.m. until 3:05 p.m. In turn, high school buses will now depart State High at 3:55 instead of 3:50.
Additionally, the spring sports coaches are considering whether or not to adjust after-school practice times. Boys Lacrosse Head Coach Tyler Kaluza explained that he will likely choose to bump his previously scheduled 4:00 practices back five to 10 minutes, but the change won’t have much of an impact on his team.
Sophomore hurdler Sam Morningstar, on the other hand, expressed a concern about getting to the track and field team’s after-school practices on time.
Underclass students like Morningstar would make up the snow day at the end of the school year if this change weren’t made, so they have a different perspective than seniors, who would not be in school for a make-up day.
“I don’t think that an extra five minutes every day is going to be beneficial to students’ learning because there’s just not enough time and content that can be truly taught in that amount of time, with only like an extra minute per class every day,” sophomore Olivia Li said.
“I felt it was gonna be inconvenient, since normally teachers don’t assign too many big assignments at the end of the year,” sophomore Dante Peterson said. “But I guess I see both sides of it, since I don’t really want to come back to school for half a day on Tuesday for the last day of the year.”
Seniors, on the other hand, would already be out of school for the year on a potential make-up day, and many are against this decision.
“From a senior perspective, it’s something we feel is unnecessary, as we normally don’t have to make up these snow days,” senior senate treasurer Isaac Tan said. “Across all grades, I don’t think there’s gonna be a significant impact just because of this five-minute change, but it’s the decision the school has made, and I think a lot of us will learn to live with the change.”
Senior Veer Patel was not pleased with the decision, and he reasoned that in past years, seniors did not have to make up snow days tacked on to the end of the year. Patel also mentioned that many underclassmen would be unlikely to show up for a half day in a new week to close the school year.
“If I had a trip or something, I probably wouldn’t [go to school on the last day] because just from past experience, we don’t really have much to do on that Monday,” Patel said. “It’s usually just sitting in a classroom and talking, which like, if I had a trip, I would just not go.”
SCAEA President Shai McGowan echoed the seniors’ sentiments.
“I don’t know that students would come at that last day, just because of the way the calendar was,” she said. “I can’t see families changing plans to make kids come back that day.”
McGowan believes the educational impact of the decision will be limited.
She explained the necessity of meeting state time requirements for both teachers and students, but also said, “Educationally, I’m not sure I can think of a pro. It’s only five minutes.”
McGowan is also the District Assessment Coordinator for Keystone Exams, and she confirmed that bell schedules for Keystone Testing dates will also be adjusted. The days will still begin at their previously scheduled times, 10:40 a.m. or 11:40 a.m., but they will utilize an adjusted two or three-hour delay schedule and end at 3:45 p.m.
Layers such as testing schedules and after-school activities make what appears to be a simple extension more complicated, but the school day itself will be largely unaffected by a five-minute shift.
The extended high school bell schedule, effective March 30, can be found here.
