Bradford Area and Otto-Eldred school districts will open their 2025-26 academic years Wednesday, while others in the county will have been back in session for as many as eight days already.

Port Allegany returned Aug. 18, while Kane resumed classes Aug. 20 and Smethport on Aug. 21. For the Owls and the Terrors, Aug. 27 is day 1.

Erin Waugaman, first-year superintendent at Bradford Area School District, said “(BASD) is excited to welcome students, families and staff back for the 2025-26 school year.”

Bradford held its 13th annual Back to School Rally on Saturday, supplying students with fresh haircuts and some new gear to start the year right.

Things will look slightly different in both districts this year. Waugaman and OESD Superintendent Matthew Splain shared some updates.

Bradford will implement “a new cellphone procedure to help students stay focused on learning,” Waugaman said. “From the first bell to the last, all students will stow away their cellphones and other electronic communication devices during the school day.” She said each student has a secure laptop locker with a charging cord in which their phones can be kept and charged during the day.

The no-parking zone in front of Bradford High School will be extended and clearly marked in order to improve visibility and safety for students, family and staff crossing Interstate Parkway. Also at the high school, BASD this year welcomes Amber Benjamin as the new principal. Most recently she served as assistant principal at Floyd C. Fretz Middle School. Students will notice a new look to the BHS cafeteria with updates made to serving lines, signs and overall appearance.

“Behind the scenes, our maintenance, custodial, and technology teams have been hard at work over the summer, completing numerous projects to ensure our buildings and systems are ready for a successful school year,” Waugaman said. “As I begin my first year as superintendent, I am grateful for the dedication and excellence of our staff. Their commitment will help ensure a smooth transition and a strong start to the year for all students.”

New this year in OE, the district will offer its first full-day 4-year-old kindergarten classroom while high school students can take advantage of a new dual enrollment option.

“Otto-Eldred first opened a 4-year-old kindergarten program (K4) in 2001,” Splain said. “The district has maintained the open-enrollment program since that time, but now has expanded the day to provide our K4 students a full day of experiences.”

High school students studying chemistry, through a partnership with the Northern Pennsylvania Regional College (NPRC), can take advantage of the dual enrollment program to graduate from OEHS with more than 30 transferable college credits, “saving thousands of dollars in future expenses.”

Further, to comply with Act 55 of 2024, which was adopted last summer and requires school security personnel on duty during the school day, OESD hired part-time, armed security guards for the upcoming year.

Splain added, “Transportation routes have been updated to more efficiently make use of our buses and funding.” Updates were mailed to families, he said.

Some important early dates in both districts are the annual Autumn Classic at Parkway Field on Sept. 20, Bradford’s homecoming parade and football game Sept. 26, followed by the dance on Sept. 27. Otto-Eldred’s homecoming is set for Sept. 27.

Splain noted that “due to the shortage of referees, teams were required to move at least one game to a Thursday night or Saturday afternoon.” Thus, the Terrors’ homecoming festivities, including a parade, bonfire and powder puff game, will be held Sept. 26 and the game versus Bucktail and homecoming dance on Sept. 27.