Pittsburgh Public Schools to change start times for 2023-24 school year

Pittsburgh Public Schools will change start times for students beginning in the 2023-24 academic year.

The new plan — which was approved by the school board Wednesday — aims to “support the district’s efforts to provide synchronous professional learning for school-based staff,” district officials said in a statement.

“We are grateful for the flexibility exhibited by our staff, students and families as we implement strategies to curtail the impact of the national bus driver shortage,” Superintendent Wayne Walters said. “Always committed to listening, our new transportation approach will push our high school start times back 25 minutes and increase synchronous cross-district professional learning opportunities for teachers and school-based staff during student half-days, addressing a challenge large school districts face when trying to increase cross-district engagement and learning among staff.”

The changes come after the district nixed a prior plan to start all schools an hour later on Wednesdays.

Under the new plan, most schools are divided into four separate tiers with different start and end times. Some schools also changed which tier they fit into under the new plan, district officials said.

Beginning next year, high school students will start at 7:40 a.m., rather than 7:15 a.m. They will be dismissed at 2:40 p.m.

The next tier will see school days run from 8:20 a.m. to 3:05 a.m., which represents a five-minute shift in start time compared to the last academic year.

It includes Arlington PreK-8, Brookline PreK-9, Colfax K-8, Faison K-5, Grandview PreK-8, Greenfield PreK-8, King PreK-8, Lincoln PreK-5, Mifflin PreK-8, Miller PreK-5, Roosevelt PreK-5, South Brook 6-8, Spring Hill K-5, Sunnyside PreK-8, Weil PreK-5, West Liberty K-5 and Whittier K-5.

Schools in the third tier will start at 8:40 a.m. and end at 3:25 p.m. District officials said schools in this tier will see their start times adjusted by 15 to 30 minutes.

Schools using this schedule include Allegheny 6-8, Allegheny K-5, Arsenal 6-8, Arsenal PreK-5, Classical 6-8, Langley K-8, Schiller 6-8, Sterrett 6-8 and Westwood K-5.

The final tier, which has the latest start time, will begin at 9:10 a.m. and end at 3:55 p.m.

Schools running on that schedule include Banksville K-5, Beechwood PreK-5, Carmalt PreK-8, Concord PreK-5, Dilworth PreK-5, Fulton PreK-5, Liberty K-5, Linden K-5, Manchester PreK-8, Minadeo PreK-5, Montessori PreK-5, Morrow PreK-8, Phillips K-5 and Woolslair K-5.

The district also has several schools that operate on different schedules.

Pittsburgh CAPA High School will run from 7:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.; CAPA Middle School will run from 8:05 a.m. to 3:25 p.m.; Clayton will run from 7:40 a.m. to 2:12 p.m.; Conroy will run from 7:40 a.m. to 2:06 p.m.; Oliver Citywide Academy will run from 7:50 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Pioneer will run from 7:45 a.m. to 2:11 p.m.