Students at Cincinnati Public Schools returned to the classroom Wednesday. This fall, more than 35,000 students are enrolled in CPS, and many of them will be adapting to changes made by the school district.
This year, CPS is opening five new middle schools, bringing the district-wide total to six middle schools. The new schools are part of the district's restructuring plan, which the Board of Education approved in December.
CPS Superintendent Shauna Murphy says the plan was designed to balance enrollment in the district's buildings, improve academic performance, and save money by merging several elementary schools and using some of the open buildings to launch five new middle schools.
One of the schools included in the plan is South Avondale School. Last year, the building was home to pre-K through 6th grade students, who are now attending Rockdale Academy down the street. This year, South Avondale School has 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students in its hallways.
April Simmons was the former principal of the elementary school and is now tasked with leading the middle school. She says she'll miss interacting with younger students every day, but is ready for a new challenge.
"I'm excited, but at the same time, it's bittersweet because I miss my babies already, but I know they're in good hands," she told WVXU. "I'm just excited to start something that is brand new."
On top of the school restructuring, CPS also has made changes to its transportation system to cut back on costs. All CPS students in grades 7 through 12 will need to take Metro buses to get to school instead of having the option of a yellow bus. CPS says it expects about 13,000 students to ride metro buses this year.
Additionally, CPS and Metro are giving students color-coded bus passes to identify whether they're taking a direct line to school or need to transfer buses to make it to their destination. The student bus passes also can be tracked, and students won't be able to use them after 5 p.m. each school day.
The new system for student Metro riders was implemented after Cincinnati Police reported a spike in student-involved violent incidents with police at four city transit centers last fall. Superintendent Murphy says the move was all about student safety.
"We're cutting off bus passes at 5 p.m. to make sure kids get to and from school safely and in a reasonable amount of time," Murphy said Wednesday.
Students who participate in extracurricular activities or have work obligations can have the restrictions on their bus passes adjusted upon request.
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