As we look ahead to the 2024-25 school year, the district will have a few adjustments to our bell schedules that will hopefully result in more efficient bus routing and the elimination of late bus routes, particularly in the afternoon. With the exception of FHS, the new start times are fairly similar to the current school year, but the FHS start time will be pushed back 20 minutes to allow more time for buses to run routes between tiers. The new bell schedule will be:
Some key points about these bell schedule adjustments are:
Middle school start times remain unchanged - 7:40 a.m.
Elementary school start times will be 10 minutes later - 8:10 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m.
ALLPS and Junior High school start times will be 5 minutes later - 8:25 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. respectively, instead of 8:20 a.m. and 8:25 a.m.
FHS will be 20 minutes later - 8:50 a.m. instead of 8:30 a.m. (important note: FHS started at 8:45 a.m. prior to this year; the earlier start time this year is the primary reason buses arrive late in the afternoons at the junior high and high school campuses)
FVA will remain unchanged
The later start times for our elementary, junior high, and high schools will also allow our morning bus routes to run more efficiently and complete the middle school and elementary routes before beginning the secondary routes.
We have also added 15 minutes to the length of the school day for grades 5 through 12. This is a result of moving to a minutes-based calendar instead of a calendar based on the number of days of attendance. As a reminder, this change allows the district to incorporate the equivalent of five snow days into the calendar, meaning the first five days missed for inclement weather will not have to be made up.
We appreciate your flexibility as we adjust our bell schedules for improved transportation efficiency.
Sincerely,
John Mulford, Ed.D.
Superintendent