Schedules for some teachers, students and parents will change in the upcoming Houston Independent School District school year.
“We’ve decided to change the current set-up of 67 different school start times,” said HISD COO Brian Busby.
That’s right, there are now 67 different start and end times among the district’s 286 schools.
After a round of surveys taken in late 2017, HISD announced Wednesday it will implement standardized school start times for the 2018-19 school year to “better deliver efficient, reliable, and affordable transportation to our students.”
The start times are as follows:
7:30 a.m.-2:50 p.m. for elementary schools and K-8 campuses
8:30 a.m.-3:50 p.m. for all secondary campuses (middle school, high school, and grade 6-12 campuses)
The days of individual principals formulating their own hours based on neighborhood needs are over. All schools will be on the same page based on what type of school it is.
The district wanted to give families plenty of time to adjust their daily routines. But officials say the changes came about after more than 17,000 people shared their thoughts through a survey.
“HISD gathered parent and principal input on the new start times through surveys conducted in October, and the results support the new start times, which were listed as Option 4 in the surveys. Of the 154 respondents to a survey of principals, 78, or 51%, chose Option 4. Of 17,138 respondents to a survey of parents, 7,932, or 46%, chose Option 4.”
The district notes some specialty campuses may have alternate start/dismissal times that will be communicated directly from the campus.
Standardizing school start times will bring efficiencies to the district’s bus routes and ensure that students arrive to campus and depart on time, resulting in fewer interruptions to teaching, learning, and family schedules. The new start times will also extend the life of the district’s bus fleet and reduce maintenance and fuel costs.