Changes to North and West School Start Times
We hope you have enjoyed a wonderful summer full of family, friends, rest and relaxation. We have made changes to start and end times for our middle schools. Based on feedback from our spring family survey this past year, we aimed for better alignment among all three secondary schools for the 2024-25 school year.
While the start and end times for Hopkins High School (HHS) will remain the same, we are adjusting the times for West and North Middle Schools. Note: These times do not pertain to VirtualEDU students. Here are the secondary start and end times for the 2024-25 school year:
| School | Start Time | End Time |
| West Middle | 8:30 a.m. | 3:15 p.m. |
| North Middle | 8:40 a.m. | 3:25 p.m. |
| Hopkins High | 8:40 a.m. | 3:25 p.m. |
Why the Change is Necessary
The adjustments are due to increased participation in after-school sports, especially for 6th-8th graders who practice with high schoolers. Middle school sports require middle schoolers to travel to the high school for practice. This led to students often missing portions of their 4th block class. This change also allows us to optimize bus routes, with North and HHS students sharing buses. Some West students will also share these buses and will be dropped at West before the buses head to North and HHS. West will start and end slightly earlier to give its student-athletes a head start for practice at HHS.
What the Change Involved
Researching and preparing to implement this change has been complex due to the logistics of bus routing, which is connected to all our programs, including early childhood, preschool, elementary, secondary, virtual school, and specialized programs such as special education, immersion, and transportation for foster care and homeless students. This spring, we asked families to register for transportation for the 2024-25 school year, allowing us to reduce the number of routed students by approximately 1,500. Although this made shifting bell times feasible, it will not result in cost savings due to a 3+ year history of rising transportation costs including fuel, driver pay, and bus provider contracts.
We know you have been waiting for a decision. Thank you for your patience. Hopefully, the vast majority of families will experience this as a positive adjustment. For all questions regarding your Transportation Registration, please email our Transportation Department at schoolbus@hopkinsschools.org.