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Kenston to put grades 4–7 on a unified middle school bell schedule; district planning bus routes
Summary
Superintendent Dr. Willingham announced the middle school will move to a single bell schedule for grades 4–7 next school year to reduce transitions and improve instructional time; transportation director and administrators are adjusting bus routes and said driver staffing is sufficient.
The Kenston Board of Education heard on May 12 that the district will move grades 4 through 7 to a single bell schedule at the middle school next school year, a change administrators said will reduce hallway congestion and free principals to spend more time in classrooms.
“We’re gonna be at the earlier time…4 through 7 will all be on the same bell schedule,” Superintendent Dr. Willingham said, describing the plan developed with principals and transportation staff. He said the change replaces two separate arrival and dismissal times that had limited instructional access.
Dr. Willingham said the district and transportation director have worked on route design to address parent concerns about younger students sharing buses with older students. “We wanted to make sure that we weren’t having fourth graders riding with seniors,” he said, noting the logistics required separate routes in some cases and coordination with the transportation office.
Chris Elner, the district’s director of transportation, confirmed the department has sufficient drivers for the planned routing and that staff are finalizing stop and route details. The administration said communications with families will be distributed later in the week and that principals will continue to refine schedules to reduce hallway transitions and preserve instructional time.
The board did not take a formal vote on bell times at the meeting; the change was presented as an administrative plan to be implemented before the 2025–26 school year. Administrators said convocation is scheduled for Aug. 12 and that final schedules will be communicated this summer.
Clarifying detail: the new schedule will align grades 4–7 on a single middle‑school bell; transportation staff said driver availability is sufficient and separate routes will be used where needed to address grade‑mix concerns.
