STAFFORD COUNTY, Va. — Stafford County Public Schools students will notice some changes as they head back to class Wednesday.
First, kindergarten, sixth, and ninth graders already had their first day on Tuesday – called Transition Day.
Superintendent Dr. Thomas Taylor said that transition to a new school building is always tough for those students, so they wanted to help ease it this year.
"Something that we figured out during the last couple of years is that our students don't do so great during transition," Dr. Taylor said. "They don't do well transitioning between in-person, hybrid and digital learning spaces, and they don't transition well between schools."
So those Stafford school students went into the building Tuesday to get acclimated and meet their teachers in the hopes of assuaging any concerns for the official start of school.
Dr. Taylor only took the helm in December 2021, so this will be his first full school year as superintendent.
"I'm so looking forward to getting our kids back in the building, but also some of our goals that we set for this year. We're trying to return to a culture of high expectations for academic performance. We're really focusing on our relationships with our kids and how we support our staff to get all that done," he said.
High schoolers in particular have a big change: A one-hour lunch.
Stafford principals said it will allow students to meet with teachers, complete missed assignments, and attend events that might only happen after school – which they might miss.
They said grab-and-go lunches will be available to ensure students have adequate time to eat as they get instructional help.
They will also be supervised and required to stay on campus during the lunch block.
The bell schedule is also changing this school year to a 6.5 hour instructional day and three-tier class block.
High schoolers and Rockhill Elementary will start first at 7:30 a.m., ending at 2pm.
The rest of the elementary schools will follow from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
And middle schoolers will start last at 9:30 a.m. and go until 4 p.m.
The goal is to help ease any transportation issues and allow more instructional time for students.