School district reports good first day
Drop-off, pick-up traffic to be expected, officials say
Although the car lines were very bumper-to-bumper for the first day of school for the School District of Lee County, it was what school officials have come to expect.
“Superintendent Dr. Denise Carlin gives the first day of school an ‘A.’ One of the major reasons is having a certified teacher in every classroom. We have not been able to say that since the pandemic. It is critically important for students’ achievement that they have a qualified educator leading instruction every day,” District Spokesperson Rob Spicker said.
He said they had a solid first day of introductions, expectations, and procedures in the classroom on Monday.
“However, outside, we had very crowded drop-off and pick-up lines as parents walked their students to the classroom and come back in the afternoon to pick them up. The extra cars, along with some weather delays, created congestion at many campuses. We recognize that at the beginning of the year the process is slower than it will be once the procedures become routine and simply ask for some patience during the transition,” Spicker said.
This year marked the roll out of the new two-tiered approach for busing — the Safe Start Initiative — which has most elementary school days from 8:40 a.m. to 3:10 p.m., middle school from 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. and high school bell time from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Skyline Elementary School and Hector A. Cafferata Jr. Elementary School bell schedule is from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as North Fort Myers Academy for the Arts, The Alva School, Bayshore School, The Sanibel School and Veterans Park Academy for the Arts.
“For our schools, the implementation was smooth. They have been preparing for the change since January and we expanded our before- and after-school care programs to accommodate family’s needs,” he said.
The move from a three-tiered system to a two-tiered busing schedule focuses on improving routes, addressing driver shortages, and improving on-time arrivals for students. The spacing of start times of an hour will allow bus drivers to finish their first tier before moving to the next tier.
In most cases, the buses were on time on the first day of school, Spicker said.
“The effectiveness of the Safe Start Initiative will take weeks, if not several months to determine, but we will be following the data closely and make changes to achieve the desired effect,” he said.
Bus riders should regularly check their bus stop times and bus numbers due the constant enrollment of new students daily and adding them to routes, which could cause some changes.
Spicker encourages students to establish good study habits now with a designated time and place for homework, projects, and test preparations before the workload gets heavier.
“We will continue to make some adjustments with teachers and classrooms into the third week of school,” he said.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY, please email news@breezenewspapers.com