Roanoke, Virginia – In an effort to address tardiness issues, Roanoke City Schools have decided to implement a new classroom schedule next year.
The Roanoke City School Board approved a staggered bell schedule in an undivided vote on Tuesday, June 13. The initiative aims to ensure timely attendance at school, following persistent transportation problems experienced last year.
According to Chris Perkins, the Chief Operations Officer, the district registered around 1,000 daily late arrivals during the past academic year. Astonishingly, half of these students were delayed by over 10 minutes.
In a collaborative effort to rectify this situation, parents, teachers, bus drivers, school board members, and Perkins convened a transportation workshop. They contemplated the adjustment of bell timings as a potential solution to the prevalent issue.
Perkins commented during Tuesday’s school board meeting, “This will allow us to have more drivers than routes. It will allow us to have substitutes. Keep in mind the opening of school is always problematic. So I don’t want anyone to think it is going to be perfect. It will not be because there are just things with the opening of school, but we will have more drivers than routes and that is what is positive.”
The education institution anticipates that these modifications will facilitate more reliable and consistent bus transportation. The planned changes will also increase the availability of buses and drivers, thereby ensuring additional drivers can be allocated to sports and other extra-curricular activities.
Following are the revised school start and end times:
- Westside, Monterey, RAMS, Fallon Park, Preston Park, Round Hill, and Lincoln Terrace: 7:30 a.m. to 2:15 p.m.
- Fairview, Hurt Park, Wasena, Fishburn Park, Morningside, Highland Park, Crystal Spring, Virginia Heights, Grandin Court, and Garden City: 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m.
- William Fleming, Forest Park, Patrick Henry, Noel C. Taylor: 8:30 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
- James Breckinridge, John P. Fishwick, Woodrow Wilson, James Madison, and Lucy Addison: 9 a.m. to 3:45 p.m.
