Student Lateness Prompts South Jersey School District To Change Schedule Again

DEPTFORD, NJ - A South Jersey school has revamped its bell schedule yet again in an attempt to stop student lateness of over an hour or more due to long bus pickup routes.

On Thursday, the Deptford Township Board of Education approved a new transportation plan during a special meeting, deciding that students at Deptford High School will begin one hour earlier at 7 a.m. to “allow bus drivers to complete a high school run, followed by a middle school run, rather than both occurring at the same time,” according to a letter from the BOE.

“With more drivers available, they will no longer need to double back for a second batch of students,” the letter, dated Thursday, reads. “This will help prevent drivers from falling behind schedule leading into the elementary school runs.”

Central and Pine Acres PreK and kindergarten schools will revert to a 9:15 a.m. start time, which will give drivers 10 extra minutes of driving time, per the letter. Middle school times have shifted to an early start date of 7:50 a.m., while elementary will begin at 8:30 a.m.

You can see the full letter here.

Bus routes were also adjusted for efficiency “so student pickup and dropoff times should improve rapidly,” the letter reads. “These early childhood routes will be handled by Deptford drivers, so our youngest Spartans will be riding with those most familiar with their neighborhoods.”

Bus number and time information was previously sent out to district families, with bus information also included on the Genesis Parent Access portal. Families are urged to ensure bus numbers located on the placard in the passenger side windows of each bus match a child’s bus number and not the number painted on the bus itself.

The school start times for the district’s roughly 1,500 students have changed twice since the school year began, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer, adding that the schedule shift is also an attempt to curb chronic absenteeism.

“We’ve received feedback from many families that their transportation has already improved greatly, asking us not to make any changes,” the Board of Education letter continues. “However, please be aware there are students who are still an hour or more late most days. While we understand making large scale changes again will create new problems for the first few days, these changes are necessary to ensure everyone is transported safely and efficiently.”

The district’s transportation hotline at 856-719-3270 remains available during morning and afternoon bus runs.