As we continue to grow, Lamar CISD remains committed to academic excellence and fostering an environment for our students and staff to be successful. In the current state of education and all its challenges, we believe the best solutions will come from being proactive and thinking outside of the box. To meet our goals, the district and our Board of Trustees are vetting the process to obtain a District of Innovation (DOI) designation and seeking other ways to alleviate issues created by bus driver shortages and increasing student riders.
In spring 2023, the Board of Trustees will review and discuss the following:
1. Becoming a District of Innovation (DOI)
2. Instructional calendar options for the 2023-2024 and 2024-2025 school years
3. Moving school hours from a two-tier to a four-tier system for the 2023-2024 school year
District of Innovation
Click HERE to learn more about this process.
Instructional Calendar
There are three calendar options for feedback and consideration. Options A and B were created in the event that the district moves forward with being a DOI. Once a DOI, a district may start the school year earlier. This is desirable for Lamar CISD because it allows the district to include more breaks and professional development and work day opportunities during the school year while still ending before Memorial Day in May.
School Hours
For a district of our geographical size and enrollment, we can improve student transportation by adjusting our school day hours. In fact, all the districts in our surrounding area operate on three- four- or five-tier system and with considerably less square mileage.
In addition to the nationwide driver shortage, we are currently transporting 3,000 more students than this time last year causing more comeback routes. To get students to and from school safely, the transportation department is required to schedule comeback routes and do turnarounds when there are not enough drivers or buses.
SCHOOL DISTRICT
|
NUMBER OF TIERS
|
DISTRICT SIZE (SQM)
|
Lamar CISD
|
2
|
385
|
Fort Bend ISD
|
3
|
169.6
|
Alief ISD
|
3
|
36.6
|
Cy-Fair ISD
|
4
|
185.3
|
Katy ISD
|
5
|
172.6
|
Moving to a four-tier system will allow us to continue to provide transportation to all students who currently receive it. Our district would be able to transport students in a timely manner without eliminating any routes. We have designed the following school hours options for the 2023-2024 school year:
Option A
7:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. High School
7:40 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. Elementary Group A (½ elementary schools)
8:10 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. Elementary Group B (½ elementary schools)
8:50 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Middle & Junior HS
Option B
7:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. High School
7:40 a.m. to 3:05 p.m. Middle & Junior HS
8:20 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. Elementary Group A (½ elementary schools)
8:50 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Elementary Group B (½ elementary schools)
Option C
7:00 a.m. to 2:25 p.m. Elementary Group A (½ elementary schools)
7:30 a.m. to 2:55 p.m. Elementary Group B (½ elementary schools)
8:10 a.m. to 3:35 p.m. High School
8:50 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Middle & Junior HS
Other Surrounding Districts
Alief ISD
7:10 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. High School
7:55 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. Elementary School
8:40 a.m. to 3:50 p.m. Middle School
Fort Bend ISD
7:30 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. High School
8:10 a.m. to 3:25 p.m. Elementary School
8:55 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. Middle School
Katy ISD
7:15 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. High School
7:50 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Elementary School (A)
8:10 a.m. to 3:20 p.m. Elementary School (B)
8:30 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Elementary School (C)
8:55 a.m. to 4:05 p.m. Junior High
Cy-Fair ISD
7:15 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. High School
7:45 a.m. to 3:10 p.m. Middle School
8:15 a.m. to 3:40 p.m. Elementary School (A)
8:45 a.m. to 4:10 p.m. Elementary School (B)
Feedback Survey
During this process, it is important for us to collect feedback from parents, staff, and students (grades 5-12). We encourage you to review the instructional calendar options and school hours options, then take 5 minutes to submit the survey. The survey will remain open from December 1 through January 6 and will be available in English and Spanish.
⤓ 2023-2024 Instructional Calendar Options & Comparison Chart
Parent Survey