Emporia Public Schools is off and rolling with the 2018-19 academic year.
Tuesday’s Showcase with Superintendent Kevin Case on KVOE dealt with several aspects of the back-to-school time period, including transportation. Director Becky Douglas says the district has over 30 routes for daily transport.
Douglas says drivers need a CDL, but all the training for that is done in-house. It can take two weeks to a month to get a driver fully trained, and the district also goes well beyond the state guidance for safety meetings.
Most drivers get to the office by 6 am and start picking up students by 6:20 am. There are also preschool and special needs routes during the midday as well as deliveries after school.
New students to the district and to their respective buildings have been in class Tuesday. The first day of class districtwide is Wednesday.
Elementary schools start class at 8 am and dismiss at 3:09 pm. Emporia Middle School will once again have staggered start and dismissal times for its grades, with sixth graders starting at 7:55 am and dismissing at 3:17 pm on most days while seventh and eighth graders will start at 8 am and dismiss at 3:22 pm. Wednesday is the exception, including this week. All grades start an hour later than they do the rest of the week. At Emporia High, students begin class at 8 am and depart at 3:21 pm — and as at Emporia Middle School, students start an hour later on Wednesday.
