For the 2026-2027 school year, the high school day for the district will span from 8:50 to 4:15 due to a switch with the middle schools and the addition of ten minutes.
The order of the school start times, elementary starting the earliest, then high school then middle school, was approved in 2010, but this year’s exact times were enacted in 2018.
The change was due to a few reasons: middle schoolers safety, more flexibility for campus closures and to align with other school districts. The completed bell schedule for next year has not yet been released, but according to principal Dr. Amy Boughton, it could include a restructured lunch schedule and an advisory/club period.
“I definitely feel like it’s going to have an impact on us,” Boughton said. “There’s possibly some good, but then we have to start to process some things that might be challenges. But I’m reluctantly optimistic.”
Before winter break, a survey was sent out to family contacts of students. Out of 54,704 contacts, 5,382 responses were collected. Staff opinions of the change were also collected, receiving 1,379 responses out of 2,396 staff contacts.
Only middle and high school teachers were surveyed, but families of all grade levels were asked for input. The results for high school parents were approximately evenly split: 43.2% said they were very or slightly unsupportive and 43.6% were very or slightly supportive. This was opposed to middle school parents, 58.8% were very or slightly supportive and 27.2% very or slightly unsupportive.
“If you look at the empirical data regarding ‘start school later would help improve students’ grades,’ it only helped marginally,” junior Sania Abraham said. “It really [just] helped upper income people, [and] it didn’t have any impact whatsoever on lower income people. They need time after school to get to their jobs and do their homework.”
Reports of middle school students waiting outside for school before staff is on campus have been made at the feeder middle schools. Another reason is unexpected school closures; the added ten minutes make up time missed without the use of bad weather days.
“I’m for the bell schedule change,” freshman Kyndal Achuba said. “I prefer getting out at a later time because I’m not a morning person. With the bell schedule change I would probably get up around 7[a.m.] instead of [earlier].”
Drawbacks of the new start and end times, as brought up by students and staff, are more traffic coming out of the parking lot. Students’ jobs, bus transportation and after-school extracurriculars would be running late – which Boughton said could potentially affect participation.
“Right now we have bus complications, and I wonder how that will change,” Boughton said. “Because we’ll be the last route, anytime there’s an issue at the elementary [and] that pushes that bus back however long the delay, then it has to go to the middle school and then us.”
Boughton said she hopes to emphasize morning tutoring over after school due to the later end time, if the buses are able to get students to school close to 8:15 a.m.
According to the district, there will be no further changes to next year’s academic calendar, but they may consider additional breaks for the 2027-2028 school year.
“Let’s try to be creative with it,” Boughton said. “I want people to think outside the box, how can we make this situation work for us. That’s what we’ve got to do when we’re stuck with something.”
