It’s almost time for classes to start at Lowndes County schools

LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Summer vacation is almost over for some high school students.

Several districts adjusted their schedules to return to the classrooms a little earlier for the 2023-2024 school year.

In January, the Lowndes County School District decided to adopt the schedule and with a little over a week before classes start.

Classes aren’t back in session yet, but school bells will be ringing next week in some area districts, including Lowndes County.

The district adopted a modified schedule that gets students in class a week earlier than their traditional start time.

“Nobody likes the idea of starting school at the end of July but I think as we get on through the year when we get the two weeks in October and the two weeks in the spring then starting a week early and going a week longer, we’ll see the benefits,” said District Superintendent Sam Allison.

Allison said the earlier start date hasn’t been much of an issue for teachers and staff, because most have been on board with the change.

“I’m excited about the modified schedule for this year just to see how that works. I’m excited I think the students will be excited to see how that goes and see if we can really make better progress for our students this year,” said a special education teacher at West Lowndes Elementary Heather Fenester

Classes are set to start Thursday, July 27, 2023, for students in the district.

Allison said the modified calendar has had some success in other districts, but if he and his team don’t see benefits coming out of it they’ll just revert back to what was working.

“We can always go back to the old one too,” said Allison.

Allison said even with the new schedule the goals are the same. He just wants his students to be successful.

“When you make the change you want to move forward so there are several smaller goals but we want to better serve our kids and our community,” said Allison.

Allison said he and his team will begin assessing how well the new calendar is working during the October break.

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