The Glenbrooks will operate under a revamped late arrival schedule for the upcoming 2023-2024 school year, Principal Dr. Barbara Georges said.

Under the new schedule, late arrivals will fall on Wednesdays of regular five-day weeks, excluding the first and last weeks of a semester, Georges explained. There will be 21 late arrivals scheduled for the 2023-2024 school year, increasing from the previous 14, she said. Moreover, school will begin at 9:30 a.m. on late arrival days instead of 10 a.m to retain an equal amount of instructional time as the 2022-2023 school year, Georges added.

“The goal for the new schedule is for students [to have] a moment midweek for [them to] get [to have]  rest.” Georges said. “For parents and guardians, I want a predictable schedule to coordinate rides. For faculty, I want time for them to collaborate together on curriculum and professional development.”

Georges and North Principal Jason Markey crafted a proposal of the new calendar based on feedback of District 225 stakeholder groups at the end of October 2022, Georges said. All district members, including committees of students, parents, teachers, and other District 225 employees, were consulted regarding the proposal, she explained. Finally, the District 225 Board of Education reviewed the revised proposal and agreed on the schedule change on Feb. 13, Georges said.

“[The final schedule] is a compromise of all values [in] each stakeholder group: teachers, parents, and students,” Georges said. “Markey and I [tried] to [have] all of the groups’ ideas compromised into one final product [to represent] the interests of everybody.”

Georges appreciates the collaboration of the school community to create the new late arrival schedule and believes that it will benefit South.

“[Creating the new schedule took] a long time and [was] a lot of work, but I believe this is an incredibly healthy shift for [South],” Georges said. “I think that every stakeholder here at [South] will benefit from the change in different ways.”