San Ramon Valley Unified School District

Bell Schedules 2022-23

2023-24 Bell Schedule General Information

Elementary

This is general information about school start and end times for the 2023-24 school year. Detailed bell schedules for your school will be posted on the District website soon.

All elementary schools will begin at 8:00 a.m. and end at 2:30 p.m. for students in grades 2nd - 5th grade.
- Wednesday release times and any other early release days will be communicated by individual school Principals.
An 8:00 a.m. start time is a change for 6 of our 22 elementary schools. This decision was made for multiple reasons including:
- Helping to alleviate traffic issues and effectively accommodating TRAFFIX bus schedules.
- Alignment of elementary school start times across the district, allowing teachers to meet and collaborate on important work and targeted support to benefit and support students. This shift will yield a tremendous benefit to our staff, which in turn benefits our students.
Start times for students in Preschool, Transitional kindergarten (TK), kindergarten and 1st grade will be communicated directly to those parents/caregivers from the school site.
Slip schedules for elementary schools will be a site-based decision, and your Principal will be in touch in the coming weeks to share their determination for their school.

Middle School

This is general information about school start and end times for the 2023-24 school year. Detailed bell schedules for your school will be posted on the District website soon.

Los Cerros and Pine Valley will start at 8:45 a.m. and end at 3:15 p.m. This is a change from this school year, and is necessary for two main reasons:
- To ensure that students served by TRAFFIX buses are able to truly benefit from extra sleep, per the requirements of Senate Bill 328 regarding 6th-12th grade changes to school start time.
- To allow for a 45 minute differential between the start of TRAFFIX elementary and middle schools, to ensure buses are on time and students do not need to be dropped off early at school.
There is no start time change for the other 6 middle schools, they will start at 8:15 a.m. and end at 2:45 p.m.
All middle schools will determine their own block schedule, late start and early release day timing, and will communicate directly with the parents/caregivers at their school site.
Middle schools will be working together to explore creative solutions for teacher collaboration time across school sites.

High School

This is general information about school start and end times for the 2023-24 school year. Detailed bell schedules for your school will be posted on the District website soon.

There is no start time change for the 4 comprehensive high schools, they will start at 8:30 a.m., per the requirements of Senate Bill 328 regarding 6th-12th grade changes to school start time.
The 4 comprehensive high schools will end between 3:30 - 3:45 p.m.
Students who attend Venture, Del Amigo High School, REACH or Transition programs will hear directly from those site leaders regarding bell schedules.
All high schools determine their own block, late start and early release day timing, and will communicate directly with the parents/caregivers at their school site.

Grades 6-12 Change to School Start Time

SENATE BILL NO. 328: SCHOOL START TIME

In 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom and the State Legislature placed some restrictions on when the school day/instruction may start for middle and high schools. This law, known as Senate Bill 328, does not allow high schools to start classes that count towards instructional minutes before 8:30 a.m. and middle school classes must not begin before 8:00 a.m. All school districts are obligated to follow this law, beginning in fall 2022.

This law was authored by a state legislator who cited research that early school start times pose serious health and safety risks. They do not affect just mental ability and mood but also have an impact on physical health. Sleep deprivation increases the risk for diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure. Researchers believe that a lack of sleep alters hormone levels and puts additional stress on the body: www.startschoollater.net/

As we work through the process of implementing these changes, we will address all key priorities by creating a high school schedule that:

Ensures equitable access to required courses
Students who take six periods will end school between 2:30 - 2:45 and students who take seven periods will end school between 3:30-3:45
Maintains a 7 period day option for all students who want that access
Has robust and dynamic 7th-period offerings to maintain our commitment to students who want to extend/expand our academic portfolio
Values supporting students to own/design their learning plan
Students can still opt to take 5, 6, or 7 classes
Centers students by honoring their desire to participate in extracurricular activities and extra academics
Ensures that students engaged in after-school extracurricular activities can have a schedule with as much flexibility as possible to participate in those activities in ways that minimize missing class time
Creates parameters for schools to follow, to ensure equity across all four high schools
Leaves space for any emerging and shifting needs and demands
Complies with all applicable laws
Complies with SRVEA contract

We are in the process of creating a schedule that is legally compliant and is guided by our definition of success for our students as aligned with SRVUSD’s Strategic Directions:

Our students achieve academically and are involved in deep learning and innovation.
Our students are empowered to set personal goals and reach their full potential.
Our students are engaged in their learning, and social and emotional well-being.

SRVUSD will continue to serve all our students, providing equitable access to desired classes at all our high schools, while supporting our students’ extracurricular and co-curricular activities.