Not long after warning families that the bus driver shortage will impact schools, Alexandria City Public Schools said it’s staggering student dismissal because of the driver shortage and schedule changes at the high school.
According to a letter from Alicia Hart, chief operating officer for Facilities and Operations at Alexandria City Public Schools, the school division will start having staggered student dismissal times for mid-day shuttle transportation at Alexandria City High School.
This year, Alexandria City High School is divided between its main King Street campus and the new Minnie Howard campus. Some students travel between campuses during the school day.
“Students’ transition times will be adjusted as necessary to assist with ensuring that they can be transported between campuses with minimal loss of instructional time,” Hart said in a letter. “Staggered student dismissals will have a minimal impact on instructional time. With the current schedule, students receive 1,091 instructional hours, which exceeds the compliance standard in Virginia Standards of Quality.”
Hart said ACPS will also be reviewing and adjusting routes to better align with schedule adjustments.
“We are exploring options to provide additional support to the transportation team, including creative ways to mitigate the impacts of driver shortages while diligently working to fill driver vacancies through the HR recruitment process,” Hart said.
