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ACPS reports full bus-route coverage, small SOL gains and rollout of new literacy curriculum
Summary
Albemarle County Public Schools told the board it started the 2024–25 year with all bus routes covered after an aggressive recruitment push; the division also reported modest SOL gains and adoption of HMH "Into Reading," while piloting Yondr phone pouches and forming a cell-phone policy enforcement committee.
School Board Chair Judy Lee and Vice Chair Dr. Piper Acuff updated the Board of Supervisors on ACPS’ fall startup, focusing on transportation, student-assessment results and curriculum changes.
Lee said early enrollment figures are preliminary but slightly above projections. On transportation, the school division ran an aggressive recruitment campaign that yielded dozens of applicants and new hires; ACPS began the year with every route covered. The division reported a starting bus-driver wage of $23.56 per hour, offered CDL training and signing bonuses, and plans to use new hires to "unstack" routes to reduce secondary students’ ride times.
Acuff described curriculum work under the Virginia Literacy Act: the division selected the HMH "Into Reading" curriculum for K–5 and will roll out a new middle-school math pathway to enable students to take Algebra I in 8th grade where appropriate. On cell-phone policy, ACPS is piloting Yondr phone pouches at Walton Middle School for 2024–25 and convening a policy-enforcement committee that includes students, parents and educators to assess effectiveness before broader expansion.
Board members praised the transportation progress and asked about data collection on curriculum implementation and the pilot’s enforcement mechanics. ACPS staff said teacher representation, building-level HMH champions and central-office teams will provide feedback to guide state compliance and training.
