Loudoun County Public Schools in Virginia are changing the schedules for the county’s elementary, middle and high schools by the start of the next school year.
The introduction of a staggered schedule is aimed at getting more students to class on time. The county is currently dealing with bus driver shortages, which have caused delays in transporting students to their respective schools.
The new staggered schedule will take effect for the 2022-23 school year. It is broken down by grade level below.
Elementary
A total of 28 elementary schools will have their schedules changed to begin at 7:30 a.m. and end at 2:15 p.m.
LCPS said that this schedule change has these schools beginning and ending their school days 20 to 25 minutes earlier, except for Waxpool Elementary School, which will begin and end its school day 45 minutes earlier to align with a standard schedule.
They are:
- Aldie
- Arcola
- Banneker
- Belmont Station
- Buffalo Trail
- Cardinal Ridge
- Catoctin
- Cedar Lane
- Countryside Station
- Kenneth Culbert
- Discovery
- Frederick Douglass
- Forest Grove
- Hovatter
- Legacy
- Lovettsville
- Lowes Island
- Meadowland
- Moorefield
- Mountain View
- Potowmack
- Frances Hazel Reid
- Rolling Ridge
- Round Hill
- Sycolin Creek
- Waterford
- Waxpool
- Steuart Weller
Another 30 elementary schools will have their schedules adjusted to go from 8 a.m. until 2:45 p.m.
This will result in the school day beginning and ending 10 minutes later, except for Ball’s Bluff and Leesburg elementary schools, which will begin and end their day 15 minutes earlier.
Those schools are:
- Algonkian
- Ashburn
- Ball’s Bluff
- Rosa Lee Carter
- Creighton’s Corner
- Cool Spring
- Dominion Trail
- Emerick
- Evergreen Mill
- Goshen Post
- Guilford
- Hamilton
- Hillside
- Horizon
- Hutchison Farm
- Leesburg
- Liberty
- Lincoln
- Little River
- Lucketts
- Madison’s Trust
- Mill Run
- Newton-Lee
- Pinebrook
- Sanders Corner
- Seldens Landing
- Sterling
- Sugarland
- Sully
- John W. Tolbert Jr.
Loudoun County schools also noted that some elementary students could be walking to their bus stop or their school in the dark. The school system said that it will work with the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, who is in charge of the county’s crossing guards, to make sure walkers have this vital safety measure in place.
Middle schools
Four middle schools will have their schedules changed to 8:30 a.m. to 3:18 p.m. This represents a time change of between five and 25 minutes earlier. Those schools are:
- Brambleton
- Mercer
- J. Lupton Simpson
- Willard
Seven middle schools will change their hours from 8:50 a.m. to 3:38 p.m. This time shift of 10 to 20 minutes later, with the exception of Smart’s Mill Middle School, which will start five minutes earlier come next year.
Those seven schools are:
- Belmont Ridge
- Eagle Ridge
- J. Michael Lunsford
- River bend
- Smart’s Mill
- Stone Hill
- Trailside
High schools
All 17 of LCPS’ high schools will adjust their hours from 9:30 a.m. to 4:18 p.m. This represents a time change of 15 minutes later, except for Loudoun Valley and Woodgrove high schools, which represents a 20-minute change.
The high schools are:
- Briar Woods
- Broad Run
- Dominion
- John Champe
- Freedom
- Heritage
- Independence
- Lightridge
- Loudoun County
- Loudoun Valley
- Park View
- Potomac Falls
- Riverside
- Rock Ridge
- Stone Bridge
- Tuscarora
- Woodgrove
The school system said that these later start and end times shouldn’t affect the start times for athletic events.
A few special programs within the county’s school system are also changing. They are listed below:
- Academies of Loudoun — hours will be 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., a shift of 15 minutes later. This maintains the existing time relationship with LCPS high schools.
- The North Star School — hours will be 9:50 a.m. to 4 p.m., a shift of 10 minutes later.
- William Obediah Robey High School — hours will be unchanged (8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.).
