Barrington schools prepare for new start times, bus schedule

Superintendent: 'We're going to work through the challenges'

By Josh Bickford
Posted 8/31/19

Barrington students will head back to class in just a few days.

And when they do, they will be greeted with a number of changes: there will be a new middle school building; there will be new …

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Barrington schools prepare for new start times, bus schedule

Superintendent: 'We're going to work through the challenges'

Posted

Barrington students will head back to class in just a few days.

And when they do, they will be greeted with a number of changes: there will be a new middle school building; there will be new start and dismissal times at all the schools; there will be a new bus schedule; and there will be more than a dozen new teachers in the district.

Barrington Superintendent of Schools Michael Messore said he is anticipating that the upcoming changes could present challenges to students, parents, teachers and administrators, but he is confident that the district will overcome the obstacles in short time.

"Every year there are changes," he said. "We're going to work through the challenges…"

Mr. Messore said the new bus schedule and school start and dismissal times may require a greater level of patience from everyone involved. But, he added: "In a month, the system will be running smoothly."

District officials have been working on the new transportation changes for months, said the superintendent. When Barrington schools shifted their start times, officials also altered the busing system. For decades, Barrington had used a three-tier busing system, where the same set of buses made three separate runs — one for the elementary schools, one for Hampden Meadows School, and one for the high school and middle school. Now the district is using a two-tier system. That means the buses will make one earlier run for the elementary schools and HMS, and a second run for the high school and middle school.

Combining the K-3 students and grades 4-5 students will mean a new grouping of students will be riding the buses together. 

"That's not unusual for many school districts," said Mr. Messore, adding that bus monitors already separate the students by grade level as they enter the school buses. The younger students sit toward the front of the bus, said Mr. Messore, while the older students sit farther back on the bus.

Officials are anticipating that run times for some of the district's younger students could be a bit longer than last year. For example, K-3 students will be picked up for school along with grades 4-5 students, but will remain on the bus as it drives across town to drop off the older students at Hampden Meadows School. Then the bus will return to the K-3 school to drop off the other students.

About some of the K-3 run times, Mr. Messore said "It's probably, right now, a little longer than I'd like." He added that district officials will further examine those runs and make changes where necessary. 

"That happens every year," said Mr. Messore of potential changes.

Mr. Messore said Barrington officials have worked very closely with the school bus company, Ocean State Transportation. 

"We had them do dry runs," he said. "We went back and forth with the transportation company."

In a recent interview, Mr. Messore said the earliest pick-up time for elementary school students is about 7:05 or 7:07, while the longest run time could be about 45 minutes.

Mr. Messore is asking people to be patient as the district aims to iron out any issues that surface during the first few weeks of the school year. 

"We know there's going to be some challenges, but we're going to make this work," he said. "We're not in this alone. I feel that we're being supported by the transportation company."

The superintendent said there is a mechanism in place — a link on the district's website — for people to request changes to the bus stops. As for feedback, Mr. Messore is anticipating people may have already started requesting changes to the new schedule.

"I'm sure she (the transportation director) has gotten a few requests already," he said. 

The first day of school in Barrington is Tuesday, Sept. 3.

Message from the district

Mr. Messore emailed a special message to parents of students on Monday, Aug. 26. It stated, in part: "Remember that you can expect delays the first several weeks of school while the drivers acclimate to their new schedules. Scheduled pick-up and drop-off times are only estimated times and may vary as students are added or deleted from bus routes during the course of the school year.

"Please be patient through our transition period. We are committed to working with our community to make this transition year as smooth as possible. If you have any questions regarding student transportation, please contact the Transportation Coordinator or the Director of Administration of Finance who will provide you with a response."

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