POLK COUNTY, Fla. — Nineteen schools in Polk County will have new start times this year. Those schools will start and end approximately 15 minutes later than last year.
The goal is to make sure students are getting to school on time.
Jennifer Sabin has three kids in Polk County schools. Her oldest daughter, Charlotte, attends Lawton Chiles Middle Academy, one of the schools with a later start time. With this change, all her kids will now be getting out of school at the exact same time.
“It mostly stays the same for us because of our proximity to both of the schools. In the afternoon it actually works out a little bit better for us because my husband is a high school teacher, so it makes it easier for him to pick up our oldest daughter,” explained Sabin.
The scheduling change is to cut down on tardies, as the county continues to grow. Bus pickup times will remain the same, meaning students will have 15 extra minutes to get to school.
This could also create some other potential benefits.
“Also now that Polk County offers free breakfast to all students, this will give those students time to actually eat the breakfast. So on that side, I think it’s actually a plus,” said Sabin.
The real challenge may come at dismissal time. If families have kids at schools that now let out at the same time, competing car lines could lead to trouble.
“You’ve gotta make sure you get both your kids. Because if you don’t, then they have to go to the principal's office 'cause you didn’t get them in time," said Sabin.
Parents in Polk County received a study in the spring when the county began to explore changes.
"We studied that to see where our problems were happening and how we could fix them. And we identified this 15-minute shift in the start and end times," said Rachel Pleasant with Polk County Public Schools.
According to Pleasant, parents wanted the change. “At the schools that were implementing these changes, the response was overwhelmingly in favor.”
It’s hard to tell what the full impact of these changes will be since school is not yet back in session. In the meantime, Polk is working to make sure they have enough bus drivers this year to get those students to school. The county is still looking to hire 20 more bus drivers for the new school year.
As for parents who need to still drop their kids off at the old earlier start time, that’s still OK. Most schools have at least 30 minutes of supervision time where students can be at the school before classes start.
Polk County schools recommends you just double check with your individual school to confirm their policy.
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