Central Bucks School District Revises Middle School Scheduling Plan

Faced with overwhelming backlash from angry parents, the Central Bucks School District on Monday offered a compromise plan for middle school schedules.

A letter was posted to the district's website Monday evening outlining the new proposal.

(Click here to read the district's letter.)

The letter outlines a plan to restore the district's current schedule of alternating A/B days. That approach would allow students to take more electives, while preserving the longer class times for core academic subjects, the district said.

"The proposed plan for schedule changes involving middle school students has received a considerable amount of comment from parents emphasizing the need for middle school students to explore all special areas rather than selecting areas of interest," the letter reads, in part.

"The Board has asked the administration to relook (at) the proposed model in an effort to respond to the concerns," it continues. Restoring the alternating A/B schedule days will provide "all electives to students over their middle school years and extending music all year long."

Under the new proposal, students still will take six classes each day, instead of the current seven, and the classes still will run 10 minutes longer than current classes.

The revised plan will be presented to parents of incoming seventh graders at middle school orientations planned for Tuesday evening, the district said. The school board will "have the opportunity to discuss" the new plan at its next meeting on Tuesday, March 13, the letter said.

The changing middle school schedule has been the subject of intense debate for the past two weeks.

Approved on Feb. 14., the initial proposal offered middle school students only one elective each marking period, effectively preventing students who wanted to study a musical instrument from taking any other electives.

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Parents and some teachers and students packed the school board meeting last week in protest, and more than 60 people spoke out against the proposed schedule changes.

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In the days since, they swiftly organized in opposition to the changes, starting a Facebook group, circulating petitions, putting up a website, holding strategy meetings and complaining to the state department of education.

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School district officials could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

We will update this breaking news story with further information as it becomes available.