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Master Bell Schedules

Final Master Bell Schedule

(Updated 6/7/2022)

Master Bell Schedules 

At the December 16, 2021, meeting, the Board approved the Master Bell Schedule model - to start the 2022-2023 school year - which identified the secondary school master start/end times and the potential impact upon the District’s elementary schools. This is due to SB 328, a new law which mandates high schools start no earlier than 8:30 and middle school no earlier than 8:00. After considering many factors, including staff and family survey input and busing schedules, the Board directed staff to further refine the model to mitigate, as much as possible, the impact to the current elementary bell schedule. Although a few are more heavily impacted, staff developed a final schedule achieving the least change for most of the District’s elementary schools. Additionally, the ability for all PUSD schools to maintain time banking at all sites has been preserved. For the first time, staff identified a common late-in day for all secondary schools and a common early-out for all elementary schools that participate in time banking.  Here you will find the 2022-23 and beyond Master Bell Schedule:

Connect Academy (K-8) will maintain its current schedule. Elementary Schools are divided into two tiers. Tier I Starting Bell is 7:45am; Tier II Starting Bell is 8:45 or 8:55am. Efforts were made to minimize the time difference between current schedules and next year’s schedules, however, three elementary schools have a change greater than 30 minutes. They are highlighted in yellow: Morning Creek, Canyon View, and Deer Canyon.

Board Approved - Option B

The Board Approved Option B at the December 16, 2021 Board Meeting
 
Known as the Pupil Attendance - School Start Time Mandate, the new law states that – beginning with school year 2022-23 – middle school instruction shall begin no earlier than 8:00 a.m., and high school instruction shall begin no earlier than 8:30 a.m. PUSD staff had presented four options, with two final options: Option #1 aka “A” and Option #4 aka “B.” The District surveyed staff when considering the two final options. 86% of staff preferred Option B; parent preferences expressed via Thoughtexchange for Option B was similarly high.

Staff recommended and the Board Approved Option #4 aka Option “B” for the 2022-2023 School Year Master Bell Schedule:
  • 7:45am-2:00pm Elementary Schools
  • 8:00am-2:45pm Middle Schools
  • 8:40am-3:45pm High Schools
Important note: Director of Transportation Tim Purvis explained that several schools would be assigned a later start than listed above because of close proximity to other schools to mitigate traffic impacts, including:
  • 9:00am-3:15pm Deer Canyon Elementary School
  • 9:05am-3:10pm Design39Campus
  • 9:00am-3:15pm Sunset Hills Elementary School
  • 8:15am-3:00pm Twin Peaks Middle School
Additionally, at least six other elementary schools, yet to be named, will likely have 8:45am to 3:00pm schedules due to bus routing efficiencies.
December 16, 2021 Presentation
November 18, 2021 Presentation 
MAY 13, 2021 Presentation

Beginning in the 2022-23 school year, PUSD will need to implement a new state law that requires a change in school start times. The law states that middle schools must start no earlier than 8am; high schools must start no earlier than 8:30am; there are no parameters in the legislation for elementary schools, however they will also need to be adjusted to accommodate the later middle and high school times. PUSD has 39 schools; please note changing school start times is a complex decision involving many factors, including transportation schedules, sports schedules, fiscal considerations, services provided at schools (such as lunch), and possible personal impacts on staff and families. The most challenging logistical impact with changing start times has been on PUSD busing. Currently, the District provides busing to students in both general education and special education, and based on the available number of buses and drivers, the schedule is divided into three tiers. You can review the slide decks from the staff board meeting presentations above. The full video conversation at the board meeting on this topic can be viewed in this video for May 13, 2021 (starting at 40:08) and this video for November 18, 2021 (starting at 1:15:32 ). 

If you would like to provide any thoughts or feedback on the following options being considered by the Board of Education, please go to https://tejoin.com/scroll/117275733 by December 9, 2021. The two final options staff will present to the Board for consideration are:

Option A

  • 7:30am - 1:45pm Elementary schools
  • 8:15am - 3:00pm Middle schools
  • 9:00am - 4:15pm High Schools

OR

Option B

  • 7:45am - 2:00 pm Elementary schools
  • 8:00am - 2:45pm Middle schools
  • 8:40am - 3:45pm High schools

Your input is valued and will be taken into consideration, along with all other criteria that the Board of Education must consider. The Board will vote on a final option at the December 16, 2021, Board meeting.

The Poway Unified School District