STATESVILLE, N.C. — On Monday, the Iredell-Statesville School District is starting classes, albeit sooner than most schools in North Carolina.
“We have adjusted our bus routes, so there will be some adjusting," district superintendent Jeff James said.
The district has more than 20,000 students from K-12th grade. One change that will affect all students and parents is that all schools will now be on a common bell schedule.
“So elementary starts at the same time [as] middle and high school, so of course they’ll be some nuances in that area that we'll have to work out.” James said.
Earlier this year, the district’s board of education voted for an early start, which goes against the recommendation of the State Board of Education’s plan to start school later this month. About 25 school districts also choose to start school sooner than Aug. 26.
James said one of the reasons behind the move was to allow students to finish their tests before the holiday break, which works better for families in the district.
“We wanted to do what’s best for our students and families,” James said.
James said everyone is excited about welcoming students back to class, adding parents should feel good about new security enhancements on the district's campuses.
James touted the schools use of the Rave system, which is an alert app that allows staff to notify of any possible safety issues at any of the district’s schools.
“We want to keep our schools as safe as possible, we don’t want to ever have any tragedy on any of our schools,” James said.
Contact Richard DeVayne at rdevayne@wcnc.com and follow him on Facebook, X and Instagram.