DANVILLE, Pa. -- When administrators in the Danville Area School District surveyed students about mental health last year, they kept hearing one thing over and over again. Both students and staff believed the school day was too long.
So administrators did something about it. The school board voted to shorten the school day from seven and a half hours to six hours and 45 minutes starting this fall.
"When we started looking at why this was one of the topics that came up that we thought would alleviate some of that stress," Danville High School Principal Jeremy Winn said.
Winn says 35 percent of the students in the Danville Area School District are dealing with anxiety, stress, or depression.
"I notice it from students. I had a class where there were a group of students that came in after being in a very difficult class. There were two of them in tears to the point where I couldn’t go on with my lesson because of the stress," teacher John Keller said.
The school day currently starts at 7:30 a.m. Starting this fall, it will start at 8 a.m.
"I’m excited for the later start so I can get more sleep. I think we can get the same amount done in a shorter school day," Paige Holcolmbe said.
According to administrators, the Danville Area School District currently has the longest school day out of all 12 schools in the Central Susquehanna Intermediate Unit.
Winn says the average school day out of the 12 districts is just over six and a half hours. Parents we spoke with think it's a good idea.
"My kids get stressed sometimes just from the length of the day and the schoolwork, so I think it’s probably a good thing," Jake Naylor said.
The school board also reduced the amount of credits students need to graduate from 27 to 24. Administrators tell Newswatch 16 the changes will not affect academics.