ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – APS made some big shifts to the school calendar this year leaving some students and teachers feeling the effects of earlier mornings.
Now the district is hoping parents heed some new advice to cut down on late starts and classroom interruptions.
It’s this new five-minute video from APS called “beating the bell” that’s pushing parents to stop getting their kids to school late.
“It just so happens, this year, that we changed the bell schedule and that has had some unintended impact or things we couldn’t predict but this is kind of an evergreen topic,” said Naomi Bowers, family engagement manager at APS.
APS Elementaries have been hit hardest by the schedule shift now facing an earlier start time of around 7:30 or 8 a.m.
But the district says daylight saving time has also made for sluggish students across middle and high schools, Bowers said she’s heard from some parents and teachers.
“Just general alertness the kind of peak and ebb of attentiveness throughout the day has changed,” said Bowers.
The new video outlines how families can make and adjust a morning routine saying without it late students are disrupting class and missing lessons.
They’re also telling parents to keep their kids from using technology at least an hour before going to bed on a school night.
“Attendance in school every day is very important it is directly correlated to student success across every year and every grade level, so it is always a timely topic,” said Bowers.
APS says there’s something parents of all ages of school kids can learn from the video.
