Regular School Day - 8:45 a.m. to 3:20 p.m.
One-Hour Early Release Wednesdays - 8:45 a.m. to 2:20 p.m.
Half-Day Early Release* - 8:45 a.m. to 12:25 p.m.
(this is 5 minutes earlier than
current practice)
Changes in Busing
Currently, we bus students in grades 6-12 together on one run, picking up and dropping off students at the high school and middle school. We have a separate run for students in grades K-5, picking up and dropping off students at Four Peaks and McDowell Mountain. With the new schedule, high school students will be bused separately and we will combine students in grades K-8 on the second run.
To accommodate this new configuration, director of transportation John Flynn has completed a draft of proposed new bus routes, which I expect to be able to share electronically by the end of next week. He has taken into consideration the number of students from each grade level at each designated stop in order to have relative balance in our passenger loads and to maintain safety on the buses. When we share the draft of these new routes, we want your feedback so we can make appropriate adjustments as needed.
Eleven districts in the Phoenix metropolitan area successfully and safely transport K-8 students on consolidated bus routes. We plan on having seating arrangements on those buses to have the youngest children nearest the front and are considering ways to develop a program for recruiting some of our StuGo, Falcon Leaders, and NJHS students to act in leadership roles at bus stops and on the buses to promote a system-wide culture of kindness, responsibility, consistency and adherence to the bus rules.
Here's another chance to share any concerns and/or recommendations you have with aligning the start times for students in grades 4-8 beginning in August. One goal in making this change is to make life easier for parents and we are still able to adjust for improvements based on your concerns and recommendations.
Use this link to share concerns and recommendations.