The school day schedule will look a bit different for students in grade K-5 when the new Bardstown Elementary School opens this fall. After a year-long evaluation Bardstown City Schools has approved a proposal to start the primary and elementary school day by 15 minutes earlier. Beginning the 2022-2023 school year, Bardstown Primary and Bardstown Elementary Schools will begin at 7:45 a.m. Dismissal time for the primary and elementary schools will remain 2:35 p.m.
The change is in response to our educators’ commitment to student achievement. Adding 15 minutes of instructional time to the primary and elementary school schedule provides our K-5 grade teachers almost the same amount of instruction time that our middle and high school teachers currently have.
Over the course of our evaluation period we discovered 90 percent of our K-5 grade students are present on campus at 7:45 a.m. Adjusting our start time allows our teachers to put those 15 minutes when students are already present to good use instructionally. Bardstown Primary School teachers will be able to offer more individualized instruction, build even stronger relationships with our students, have more “on task” time with their classrooms and provide all the educational services our kids need and deserve. Bardstown Elementary will gain an additional grade level next year. Therefore, staff will need the additional time to provide academic intervention (RTI) for all students.
Here’s what families need to know:
- School will be open at 7:00 a.m. for car riders.
- Bus riders can expect to be picked up between 6:45 a.m. and 7:15 a.m.
- K-5 grade students will still have a dedicated bus route to and from school.
- BPS students will eat breakfast in the cafeteria.
- BES students will have breakfast in their classroom or cafeteria.
Both Bardstown Primary and Bardstown Elementary will be sending a letter home with students this week with additional information.