Changes Parents and Students Need to Know as They Head Back to School

Interactive classroom technology, principal changes, air-conditioned school buses, online school bus information, dress code updates, early release dates, and price increases for breakfast and lunch are what is new in Fayette County Public Schools as students get ready to return to class on August 7.

Connected Classrooms
This summer technicians began installing classrooms with interactive technology that includes a 65-inch wide interactive panel display with a dedicated computer and document camera. The interactive panel display features touch annotation that allows students and teachers to use the panel as a tool to explain a process or model an idea. Schools are also being equipped with one-to-one Chromebooks so that every student has access to a device. Installations will continue into the school year, over the weekends and holidays, until all classrooms in the school system are equipped with the new technology.

New Principals
Four schools will have new principals at the helm. Former assistant principal Lisa Howe is the new principal at Robert. J. Burch Elementary. She replaces Felecia Spicer who is now the principal at Oak Grove Elementary, replacing Bonnie Hancock who retired last March. Principals Doe Evans at Crabapple Lane Elementary and Roy Rabold at Whitewater High retired at the end of the school year. Former Crabapple Lane Elementary assistant principal Margaret Davis and former Whitewater High assistant principal Steve Cole have been promoted to principal at their respective schools.

School Buses
Temperatures are always soaring when it is time for students to return to class, but this year the school bus ride to and from school will be more comfortable for students and bus drivers alike. A total of 154 school buses have been retrofitted with air-conditioning units to combat the hot days of August and September. New school buses that are purchased in the future will come standard with air-conditioning. Previously, only special education school buses were air-conditioned.

Also starting this year, parents will be able to have immediate online access to their child’s school bus number, school bus stop location, and pick up and drop off times through e-Link. Parents can access the link at www.fcboe.org/elink beginning August 2. Parents can only view the information after they have registered for bus service. If no information appears, register for bus service, and then access the link again.

Dress Code
As parents and students purchase school clothes for the coming year, they need to take into consideration some changes that have been made to the school system’s dress code. Most notable are that sleeveless shirts and dresses must have shoulder straps that cover the entire shoulder and are at least four fingers wide. Holes in garments must be below the fingertips or mid-thigh, and hems on skirts, dresses or shorts must be at or below the fingertips, or mid-thigh.

Early Release Days
The 2017-2018 school calendar has been revised to include four early release days for students in order to give teachers more professional learning opportunities. The early release days are September 20, October 19, January 31, and March 14. On those dates, elementary students will be released at 11 a.m., middle school students at 11:45 a.m., and high school students at 12:25 p.m. School buses will run on the early release schedule to take students home from school.

Breakfast and Lunch Prices
Meal prices are up slightly for all students and adults. Lunch prices at the elementary school level increased a dime to $2.75, and middle and high school prices increased 15 cents to $2.90. Adult lunches increased 25 cents to $3.75. Breakfast prices went up 15 cents at the elementary level to $1.60, and increased 10 cents at the middle and high school level to $1.60. Adult prices increased 25 cents to $2.25. The increases were necessary to reduce the disproportion between paid student meals and the reimbursement that the school system receives from the federal government for students eligible for free meals. The reimbursement rate was more than the paid meal rate, resulting in the need for the increase.