The Doylestown-headquartered Bucks County Intermediate Unit gathered professionals from all 13 county school districts Wednesday, Aug. 26, at William Tennent High School in Warminster for its 2026-27 opening day.

The annual event aligned staff days before Central Bucks kindergartners and 6th, 7th and 10th graders return Monday, Aug. 31, with all CB students back Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Keynote speaker Brian Buffington, founder of the EdTech newsletter "Buff Nuggets" and a national speaker on artificial intelligence in education, challenged staff to weigh how they spend their time as AI reshapes classrooms. His central argument: technology handles tasks, but human connection remains irreplaceable.

"What we do, it's got to count," Buffington told the crowd, according to Patch.

Buffington, a former middle school science teacher whom EdTech K12 Magazine named one of its "30 K12 IT Influencers to Follow" in 2021, is known for weaving live music into his presentations. He closed the day by performing on guitar and vocals alongside Bucks IU paraeducator Aretha Williams on harmonica and Executive Director Dr. Mark Hoffman on bass.

Hoffman had set up the musical finale earlier, using a band metaphor in his welcome remarks to illustrate how individual expertise grows more powerful when coordinated toward a shared purpose.

Behavior analyst Alyssa Surridge said the parking lot alone signaled the event's scale, comparing the stream of arriving cars to a concert crowd.

Pamela Dinan, Bucks IU Supervisor of Education and the event's coordinator, said the gathering answers a practical question for staff who spend most of the year embedded in individual schools: what can they accomplish together that they cannot do apart?

Board President John D'Angelo credited staff directly, saying their collaboration doesn't happen by accident.

Opening Week continues through in-person sessions, virtual learning and online modules covering safety, crisis intervention, audiology and early childhood development. Central Bucks Back to School Nights at CB East, CB South and CB West are all scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9.