Teachers have the option to either assign assignments digitally through Canvas or collect work on paper and simply track progress in Canvas. Regardless of the collection method, all K-12 teachers use Canvas to post information about assignments (title, due date, category, description, etc).
Ongoing quarterly averages (grades 3-12) and individual assignment scores (K-12) can be accessed from Canvas. Quarterly report cards can be accessed from Synergy.
Starting schools later has been a priority for the Board of Education and Superintendent. On Tuesday, Aug. 29, as we began to study the data to develop and model plans, we wanted to preserve as much of the spirit of the school start times initiative as possible even as we made adjustments within what the Board of Education Policy 5200 Student Transportation - Implementation Procedures allowed.
Compared to the 2022–2023 school year, high schools will start at 7:50 a.m. instead of 7:25 a.m.—a 25-minute difference—and students will now be dropped off at 7:30 a.m. instead of between 6:55-7:00 a.m., which is a 30–35-minute difference.
The current drop-off time that was used for routing this year was 10 minutes before the school’s start time. Unfortunately, as we have learned, that is too close to the start of the school day—especially with traffic—to allow for timely arrival at schools and provide students the opportunity to take advantage of breakfast service or visit their lockers.
No. Last year, when high school started at 7:25 a.m., bus routes were scheduled to drop off students at their school by 6:55 – 7 a.m. Additionally, we were doing double runs last year, which meant some students arrived at their schools much earlier than scheduled. The drop-off target of 7:30 a.m. under the plan effective Sept. 20 will still be 30-35 minutes later than what we had in place last year.
While it is projected that the 20 minutes of total time added to the schedule will result in significant improvements, it does not fix the challenge occurring in Tier 1 of buses which are getting slowed significantly by the confluence of car riders and student drivers. This reality is the primary reason for the Tier 1 on-time status from the time a bus picks up their first stop to the time they drop off at the school.
Currently, thousands of students are arriving at school after the first bell—some coming a few minutes late and some missing significant instructional and support time. This consistent tardiness will undoubtedly have a detrimental impact on the instruction and supports students receive while at school and needs to be addressed.
Additionally, asking students and staff to remain at school long after dismissal is untenable as it requires staff to be available to provide oversight while students wait at the school for their bus.
At recent Board of Education meetings and in community updates, Superintendent Dr. Michael J. Martirano outlined several adjustments that HCPSS has made to realize improvements in student transportation services, including:
Correcting the routes provided to contractors to align with information on the bus locator,
Improvements to the process of how buses leave the Zum Services bus lot,
During the first few days of the school year, we addressed several logistical issues that impacted transportation. However, despite these adjustments, the biggest issue impacting the ability of bus drivers to deliver students to school in the morning and home in the afternoon on time is insufficient time between our school start times. Buses quickly become delayed at our earliest schools based on insufficient route timing, traffic delays, and competing with student drivers/car drop-offs entering and exiting schools at the same time.
