ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque Public Schools (APS) is set to announce their new start and dismissal times today, Monday, Apr. 17, at 1 p.m. APS Superintendent Scott Elder will make an announcement regarding the changes today to let parents, staff, and students in on the new schedule.
According to the district, the schedule change decision with made with the hope of improving student outcomes in the classroom. APS is trying to combat the negative impacts that insufficient sleep can have on high schoolers’ grades. “This switch we know is going to greatly impact our community and so we didn’t make this decision lightly and we wanted to make sure that what we did was comprehensive,” said APS Chief of Schools, Channell Segura.
Superintendent Scott Elder says this has been something the district has been working on since 2011. Starting in August, high schools will move from a 7:25 a.m. start time to an 8:40 a.m. start. Middle schools will scoot back an hour and start at 9:15 a.m. and finally, elementary schools will be split, with some starting at 7:30 a.m. and the other half starting at 8:05 a.m.
The district says this will help accommodate for the bus driver shortage because there are just not enough drivers for the district to run on one bell system. While the district acknowledges that the changes may affect after-school activities, they believe it will ultimately help their students.
