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Mount Vernon school staff outlines approved 2025-26 bell schedule, bus seating plan for intermediate students
Summary
District staff described a board-approved 2025-26 bell schedule that keeps instructional minutes, sets elementary hours at 7:35 a.m.–2:05 p.m., and assigns fifth- and sixth-graders to the front of buses; the presentation said the district will begin parent outreach and implementation preparations.
A district staff member told the Mount Vernon School Board the board has approved a 2025–26 bell schedule that preserves current instructional minutes, sets elementary school hours at 7:35 a.m. to 2:05 p.m., and calls for fifth- and sixth-graders to ride toward the front of buses, with high school students seated at the rear.
The staff member summarized the process and the plan’s guiding principles, saying the schedule was developed by a committee of principals, assistant principals, athletic directors, school resource officers and operations staff who reviewed other districts’ practices and past local arrangements. “Our number 1 goal is safety for all children,” the presenter said.
District officials said they used three guiding principles: keep a consistent length of the school day so instructional minutes are not reduced; add time into the second transportation tier to allow for routing and on-time arrivals when the district brings fifth graders into an intermediate configuration with sixth graders; and maintain current afternoon release times so extracurricular transportation remains possible. The presenter told the board that the intermediate school will follow the high school schedule and that the middle school follows after that.
On transportation, the presenter described seat assignments to reduce interactions between age groups: intermediate students (fifth and sixth graders) will be assigned to the front of buses, middle-school students to the middle, and high-school students to the rear. “We’re going to assign the intermediate students, the fifth and sixth graders, to the front of the bus,” the presenter said.
The presenter gave specific start and end times for elementary schools under the approved schedule: elementary schools will start at 7:35 a.m. and end at 2:05 p.m., a day length the presenter said is 6 hours and 30 minutes. The presenter also said the district tried to keep the same day length on Wednesdays and offered flexibility for staff and transportation needs.
The presenter said the board has approved the plan and described next steps: begin preparations for implementation and provide information to parents and students. “Now that the school board has approved the plan, we’re gonna start for and prepare for implementation,” the presenter said. The presenter invited questions from the audience.
The presentation noted that Mount Vernon previously operated an intermediate school where fifth- and sixth-graders rode with older students and that the district reached out to similar and larger districts to understand how they manage growth and adding a new school. District staff repeatedly emphasized safety and communication as priorities during the transition.
