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* Updates are posted at the bottom of this page.
In October 2019, a committee was assembled to discuss BCSS transportation options for the 2020-2021 school year in light of the opening of Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy. This committee engaged administrators from all levels, as well as transportation and district office leaders. The committee discussed issues, gathered foundational information, and set goals.
While there were many factors the committee was trying to address, developing a bell schedule and transportation plan to accomplish the following key goals was paramount:
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Getting students to the Barrow Arts and Sciences Academy (BASA) in a manner that aligned with Apalachee and Winder-Barrow High School schedules without significantly shortening the length of the school day for BASA/Sims Academy students.
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Shorten the school day for elementary school students from 420 minutes per day to between 390 and 405 minutes per day and schedule bus routes in a way to reduce the window of bus arrival times at the elementary school level from 30 minutes or more to 5-15 minutes and provide sufficient time to elementary teachers for educational planning.
A consultant was engaged to create multiple scenarios for the committee to consider. A total of 10 scenarios were developed, and while no scenario was a perfect solution for our goals, two scenarios were more workable.
Currently, the BCSS buses run on a two-tier system in which middle and high school students are transported together on buses and elementary run at a separate time. Three-tier options, in which each level would be transported separately, were considered and found to not be feasible at this time.
The Board of Education voted to place two scenario options on the table for public review at the May 5th board meeting. A survey for public input was shared via ParentLink email to all BCSS families as well as through social media. Over 4,300 responses were collected on the survey. Feedback from the survey was reviewed in detail.
At the May 26th Work Session, Dr. Greene presented the survey results and a recommendation for the Board of Education to consider Scenario 1 from the study. You can review the PowerPoint presentation here.
Update
At the June 2 Board meeting, the Board of Education approved the recommendation of the Superintendent and adopted the following Bell Schedule for the 2020-2021 school year. Additional information will be forthcoming about changes for the next school year.
