Notes on the First Week of School
August 14, 2022
Please note: This article was originally posted during a previous school year. Information and/or dates from past events
may be not be relevant for the current school year.
We appreciate the positivity and patience we witnessed from so many the first week of school! CMCSS still has challenges ahead, but we will continue working together to improve every day. A few notes from this first week of the 2022-2023 school year:
Thank a bus driver! Please extend gratitude and grace to our bus drivers. CMCSS currently has 233 bus drivers, with around 20 in the 7-week training program and over 40 in-processing for the training program. Our bus drivers work hard to transport students to and from school safely. The delays we are experiencing with some routes are not their fault.
The single biggest challenge we continue to face with transportation services is the need for more drivers. Although the Parent Responsibility Zone (PRZ) was expanded by half a mile, increasing the number of students in the PRZ from 4.5% last year to around 10% this year, and we currently have more active drivers and recruits than last school year, we still have dozens of open routes and are experiencing delays that we are working to improve. Please see the next two notes for more context.
We are growing! It is too early to provide accurate enrollment figures for this school year as daily registrations and transfers are still occurring. However, we want to provide some quick updates.
On Friday, there were 3,395 more students present in CMCSS schools than on the same day of school last year. Last week, from the first half day on Monday through noon on Thursday, 561 new students enrolled in CMCSS for the first time and 417 students transferred between schools or back into the District after being enrolled somewhere else. Over 2,500 additional students attended on the first full day than were present on the first half day. CMCSS schedules two staff development days between the first half day and the first full day to coordinate class schedules, bus routes, staffing, and other important logistics.
We welcome all students and families and will continue making operational and staffing adjustments to improve our services.
We are hiring! Although CMCSS in-processed over 400 new-to-CMCSS teachers this summer and hundreds of classified staff, there are still openings, especially with the growth we are experiencing in our community. If you or someone you know is interested in a career with CMCSS, please visit cmcss.net/employment for available careers and to begin the application process.
If you have a bachelor’s degree and are interested in pursuing a career in teaching, CMCSS is hosting Teaching Permit Info Sessions on Saturday, August 20 between 10 a.m. and noon at Central Services Gracey (621 Gracey Ave.).
For bus drivers, CMCSS raised its hourly starting rate for bus drivers from $16.27 to $18.66, with a new range of $18.66-$27.72. In addition to the pay increase, drivers can receive additional compensation incentives.
Student safety is our top priority! To provide families with more information about CMCSS’ school safety and security protocols, the District has created the School Safety Hub, which can be found at cmcss.net/school-safety. We ask all families to please talk to their children about the importance of immediately reporting any safety concern to a teacher, administrator, SRO, or other trusted adult. Whether it is on social media or in the schoolhouse, if you see or hear something, say something. Additionally, it is important that families read the Student Code of Conduct, reinforce positive behaviors with students, and explain the consequences, including potential criminal charges, for offenses.
For other important updates and reminders for this school year, please review the Family Guide to the Start of School (2022-23 School Year) that we sent last month.
Finally, the CDC has recently updated its guidance. Close contacts and household contacts to a positive, regardless of vaccination status, no longer need to quarantine or isolate. Any students or employees who are out due to being a close contact can return on Monday. Click here for the updated CMCSS Return to School/Work flowchart.
We hope everyone has a successful week, and we look forward to seeing our students tomorrow!