Lexington SC School District to Modify Start Times for Upcoming Year

The Lexington School District One is in line for some significant changes in the coming school year, with particularly important adjustments made to school start times.

New Timings

Lexington School District One elementary schools are set to start at 7:30 a.m. from this academic year onwards. Formerly starting at 7:40 a.m., the schools will now begin sessions 10 minutes earlier, thereby adding an extra 50 minutes of instructional time per week. This cumulative increase will result in additional 30 hours of teaching throughout the school year, all without making any alterations to bus transportation schedules or teacher arrival and dismissal times, according to a district spokesperson.

Aligning With State’s Standards

The district points out the change of start times will help ensure that it meets state requirements in terms of the amount of time spent on all academic disciplines such as language arts, math, science, social studies and related arts instruction. Further, it will also support the time allocated to reading interventions, lunch breaks, and recess periods.

Staggered Start Schedules

The district plans to implement a distinct staggered start schedule for 4- and 5-year-old kindergarten students. This system will see students attend school based on the first letter of their last name. The district believes that this will provide teachers with a better chance to create a more personalized and supportive environment. The schedule is as follows:

• August 7, 2024: students with last names beginning with A–G
• August 8, 2024: students with last names beginning with H–O
• August 9, 2024: students with last names beginning with P–Z

This staggered schedule will be implemented only for the first week of school. Starting from Monday, August 12, classes will be restored to the original schedule with all students expected to be present.

No Alterations in Neighboring Districts

It is important to note, however, that Lexington district two, three, four, and five will not see any changes in their start times for the upcoming school year.