Pender County Schools release survey regarding switch to 3-tiered bell schedule

PENDER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — Pender County Schools has announced an initiative aimed at transforming its bell schedule.

The school system says the goal is to address critical challenges and enhance the overall educational experience for students throughout the district.

The existing bell schedule has presented a series of challenges, including late arrivals due to bus driver shortages, early arrivals for scheduled doubles, shared buses leading to concerns, recruitment difficulties for instructional assistants, and additional non-instructional supervision requirements due to doubles, according to a press release.

To tackle these challenges, the district says they have thoroughly reviewed transportation data and crafted three innovative options for consideration.

Each option ensures no school starts before 7:30 a.m., optimizing the school day for students across all grade levels:

1. Option A: Standardized 7-hour school day for middle, elementary, and high school students, prioritizing a later start time for middle schools.

2. Option B: Maintains a 7-hour day, with selected middle schools on a two-tier schedule to accommodate various school needs.

3. Option C: Also a 7-hour day, striving to provide later start times for elementary students while addressing transportation challenges.

To let your opinion be known in a survey, click HERE.