Olathe Public Schools began the 2024-25 academic year with a new bell schedule for all of its building.
Olathe administrators recently highlighted the positives of the new bell schedule, while also addressing the challenges in a presentation Thursday night at the Olathe Public Schools Board of Education meeting.
The district implemented the changes in the fall in response to bus driver shortages, Superintendent Brent Yeager has said. Last year, the district ended the school year with 129 drivers and now there are 148, according to district records.
“Those buses are arriving on time to pick them up from school and drop them off at school,” said Pioneer Trail Middle School Principal Scott Appell. “I’m no longer getting a text message that says ‘Bus 518 is going to be 30 minutes late picking up your students from school today,’ and trying to figure out what we’re going to do with them.”
“I asked a student what they noticed about the change and she’s a bus rider, an 8th grade
student,” he added. “She said, ‘I love that I know who my bus driver is this year.’”
High school changes
High schools now start class at 7:40 a.m. and end 2:40 p.m., a 20-minute shift earlier. The Prairie Learning Center also has the same schedule.
“It’s helped us get kids to school,” said Olathe West High School Principal Jay Novacek.
When bus driver shortages forced the district to change and reduce routes, many students had to walk or bike to school, Novacek said. It worked when the weather was nice, but with snow and rain, many students had to stay home without reliable transportation.
With the new schedule change, bus routes have returned to normal, and more students are able to be in class. Morning traffic has also reduced, missing peak rush hour.
“This change has greatly impacted the traffic pattern in Olathe,” said Deputy Superintendent of Organizational Operations Jim McMullen. “We have areas where high schools and middle schools are next to each other or in close proximity, and to have those (times) spread out in this three-tier system has been tremendous.”
Some people were worried about the impact on morning band practices, Novacek said, but all the high schools received large portable lights.
Middle school changes
Middle schools and the Heartland Early Childhood Center start at 8:20 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m.
“We have significantly less students who are late to school every day,” Appell said. “I don’t know if that’s a testament to the number of students who have access to buses or the high school start time being earlier, and our students no longer need to depend on older siblings to get them to school or what it is. But, on average, we’re only seeing about 10 tardy students per day.”
The changes also allows for all Olathe middle schools to be on the same schedule, which
benefits staff that are split between buildings, Appell said.
However, activities have been pushed back and instructional time has been reduced by 20
minutes per day. It ends up cutting about 3 minutes per class period.
“The only teachers who did say they noticed were our teachers who have labs,” Appell said.
“For instance, culinary, materials and processing, our P.E. teachers — when kids have to
change for P.E., they have to change into P.E. and out of P.E. — they noticed that too.”
Elementary school changes
Elementary schools and the Harmony Early Childhood Center now start at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:55 p.m.
“I wanted to highlight just a few of those opportunities as a result of the new elementary
schedule,” said Green Springs Elementary School Principal Todd Wheat. “First of all, with
contracts now beginning at 8:15 a.m., and the doors not opening until 8:35 and students not coming back to the classrooms until 8:45 a.m., all of our certified staff have additional time to prepare for students in the morning.”
Additionally, Wheat said the new schedule allows students more time with rotating classes like music, art, physical education and library.
However, the changes come with challenges — 20 minutes less of instructional time per day, meetings and activities getting pushed back, and the fifth graders feel the change the most, Wheat said, with additional subjects in their course load like band and strings.
“All-in-all, I do feel like the changes to our elementary schedule have been very well received by our staff and our community,” Wheat said. “Like any change, there are some growing pains that we’re figuring out, but overall I feel like things are on a very good track right now.”
Other Olathe school news: Olathe educators says district’s new cellphone rules have been ‘non-issue’
