Sixth graders walked into middle school and ninth graders into high school for the first time Monday as Central Bucks School District launched one of its biggest structural changes in 25 years.

The Aug. 31 opening put the district's new K–5, 6–8 and 9–12 grade configuration into effect across all 23 schools, along with full-day kindergarten at every one of its 15 elementary buildings. The district had piloted full-day kindergarten at six schools last year.

Kindergartners, sixth graders, seventh graders and tenth graders reported Monday. All remaining students report Tuesday, Sept. 1.

The changes trace to a 2023 recommendation from demographics firm Crabtree, Rohrbaugh and Associates, which the district hired to study enrollment trends and space utilization. The school board approved the plan in March 2024, then approved additions and renovations at CB East, CB South, CB West and Mill Creek Elementary in November 2024. The district is spending $12 million in one-time costs to add classrooms and upgrade common areas at its three high schools, according to Patch.

The original timeline called for a 2025 launch. The board postponed the switch one year to allow more time for construction.

At CB West in Doylestown Borough, two art classrooms, the new Commons and a grab-and-go dining area remain inside an active construction zone for the first few weeks of school. New Superintendent Joanna Wexler said a code-approved temporary firewall and marked travel routes separate the work from students and staff, and that crews will do disruptive work outside school hours. The school's new terrazzo lobby floor is usable but won't get its final polish until winter break.

CB East in Buckingham is essentially complete, with new instructional spaces, a renovated library and an upgraded entrance vestibule ready for students. At CB South in Warrington, six new classrooms created from converted planning areas are finished, but a larger three-story addition won't wrap up until summer 2027. That ongoing project limits student parking: seniors get priority and juniors are ineligible for daytime spots.

A new classroom addition at Mill Creek Elementary was completed to handle the full-day kindergarten expansion.

The structural changes helped drive a $460.4 million district budget for 2026–27, which includes a 5.7% property tax increase adding roughly $344 to the average homeowner's annual bill, according to the Suburban Realtors Alliance. Overall expenses climbed $31 million, fueled in part by the realignment, full-day kindergarten, salaries, benefits and transportation.

"I'm eager to see our classrooms, hallways, fields, stages and schools filled with students again," Wexler said.

Board member Karen Smith, who served as board president when the district began studying the realignment in 2023, said the changes give kindergartners a stronger start. She said the new configuration moves sixth graders into a setting designed for adolescence and opens high school programs to freshmen.

Back to School Nights for CB East, CB South and CB West are scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 9.