Dear CBSD Community,

Starting in the 2026-27 school year, Central Bucks School District will embark on a major evolution in how we deliver our educational program when we realign grades across the district and implement full-day kindergarten. Our elementary schools will shift from grades K-6 to K-5; our middle schools from 7-9 to 6-8; and our high schools from 10-12 to 9-12. The full-day kindergarten program will replace our current half-day program in all our elementary schools. 

These significant transformations have been years in the making. An enrollment, capacity and attendance boundary study has been completed. With involvement from a committee of staff, parents, students and community members, an examination of demographics, extensive research, and data analysis have been conducted. Informational forums and feedback sessions open to the public have been held. As we move forward in the process, we will continue to provide information and regular updates, and invite your feedback. 

Since the district’s last communication about realignment on March 12, 2024, planning and program development have been happening in earnest. We are excited to share an update on our progress.  

Preparing to Pioneer Full-Day Kindergarten in 2025-26 

Part of our planning for grade realignment and the launch of full-day kindergarten (FDK) involves the pioneering of FDK in select elementary schools in the 2025-26 school year. This approach will allow us to ensure the efficacy and fidelity of various elements of the program prior to the full launch. We are confident the work we are completing this year will allow us to open and provide an excellent and exciting FDK pioneer program next year in several of our elementary schools while we maintain our traditional half-day program in the others. 

Currently, our intention is to pioneer full-day kindergarten in multiple elementary schools. We are in the process of vetting our schools to determine which will receive the pioneer program. Enrollment and space are the two main criteria factoring into which schools are selected chosen. We plan to announce the selected schools by November 7, 2024 (updated from an initial date of Nov. 4). Each pioneer program will benefit from a FDK course of study being created for each curricular area.   

Planning also includes various visits by CBSD teachers and administrators to local school districts that currently offer full-day kindergarten. Our visits will allow us to observe many facets of FDK programs firsthand, helping us understand average class sizes; instructional minutes per subject; classroom schedules and set-up; available support personnel; learning materials; facilities layout; lunch operation; use of play time; Specials offerings; and more.  

We began these visits today at Simmons Elementary School in Hatboro-Horsham School District and look forward to sharing more about our learnings and takeaways as these visits continue.  

“Realignment Handbook” Now Available 

To consolidate the current information about grade realignment and full-day kindergarten in an easy-to-access format, we have created a 19-page “Realignment Handbook” now available on the project webpage. We encourage interested families to review this comprehensive resource. 

Coming in October: Realignment Newsletter 

A project as momentous as realigning our grades and launching a full-day kindergarten program requires a dedicated method of communicating our progress and important updates. Beginning in late October, the district will release “Realign & Redefine,” a monthly e-newsletter focused on information about realignment and FDK that will be emailed to CBSD employees, families and community members. We are excited about providing our community with this resource to ensure interested stakeholders can remain informed and engaged.  

We hope this update was helpful as we continue to plan for this significant shift in our educational program. We truly believe the move will benefit our students and families, and are eager to undertake this journey with you. We invite you to visit the project webpage, which will be regularly updated with new information and FAQs as they become available, and share your questions and feedback through this form and at cbrealign@cbsd.org. 

Thank you for your support and partnership. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Steven Yanni 
Superintendent 

Dr. Nadine Garvin 
Assistant Superintendent for Elementary Education 

Dr. Charles Malone 
Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education

This message was originally email to the CBSD community on Sept. 19, 2024