Though years away, major changes could be in store for the bell schedules and school calendar at Spokane Public Schools

Shorter summers, more frequent breaks and a later start time for the oldest students could become a reality in Spokane Public Schools as early as the 2026-2027 school year.

Spokane Public Schools is looking at shaking up school scheduling, in early conversations surrounding adjusting school bell schedules and the calendar as a whole for the more than 29,000 students and 2,200 teachers in the district.

High schoolers may also enjoy an extra half-hour to sleep in, as the district prepares to assemble a work group evaluating the bell schedules at its 57 schools.

The school board Wednesday night heard an update from district staff on the yearslong effort to explore what a “balanced calendar” might look like in their district. A balanced calendar is an alternative schedule growing in popularity in recent years. It looks different at each district, although it generally involves stunting the three-month summer vacation in favor of more breaks embedded in the school year. State law mandates schools offer 180 days of instruction.

State law also mandates school hours exist in the window of 7 a.m. and 4 p.m., guardrails on another of the district’s considerations regarding bell schedules.

“We’ve heard it through the community, even hearing from community members as early as today, is really to talk about school start times and end times at our different populations at elementary, middle and high,” said Heather Bybee, district chief of staff.

As it stands, elementary schoolers ring in the day at 8:30 a.m. and head home at 3 p.m. The middle school bell schedule is from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. High schoolers are the earliest risers at 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

The board advised a work group be assembled regarding bell schedules, involving stakeholders like school staff, students and families to research possibilities and recommend an adjustment for the board on which to possibly take action.

One idea Bybee floated on Wednesday was to swap bell schedules in elementary and high school.

A later start date would agree with kids’ circadian rhythms, Bybee said, with older kids preferring to sleep in, while younger kids are early risers.

“Start times can better align with adolescents’ natural sleep patterns supporting improved focus and academic performance, enhanced mental health by reducing rates of depression and anxiety, improving physical health: including lowering the obesity rates and reducing sleep-related accidents,” Bybee said in a presentation to the board.

There are several implications and considerations to changing bell schedules, including parents’ work and child care arrangements, after-school activities in waning daylight hours and bus transportation.

The soon-to-be-assembled work group would consider these factors and others when pondering a new schedule.

Considering busing, Bybee said it may be more convenient to switch the elementary and high school schedules so transportation for younger students, the highest ridership in the district, can be wrapped up earlier, leaving more buses available for after-school activities in other age levels.

Transportation staff would have to consider their contract with bus provider Zum and their partnership with Spokane Transit Authority that gives high schoolers free rides.

“They thought there could be challenges as we’re finishing routes at each of our levels, as we continue to expand activities that put a strain on our system, but they felt very optimistic that, regardless of what the recommendation was, that they could make it work,” Bybee said.

Board president Nikki Otero Lockwood said she hoped to garner a lot of student feedback on possible bell schedule changes. The board didn’t have to look far for that, as freshly sworn-in student advisor Maile Esperas offered her two cents on the topic that evening.

“I’m a sucker for late mornings,” the Ferris student said.

The board appoints two high schoolers to join them on the dais each year to give them a student perspective.

“I’m not a morning person whatsoever, but also you can see the energy in my friends and my fellow peers around me, and it’s something different. And I don’t know exactly what that is,” Esperas said, describing an energetic atmosphere on late-start days when the high school bell rings an hour later.

Another upcoming change the district is considering is a shift to a balanced calendar. A work group composed of district staff, families, union representation and school board members Mike Wiser and Hilary Kozel has been working since last year to research these alternate schedules and implications for Spokane.

Calendars are outlined in the districts’ contracts with staff as negotiated with their respective unions. Current three-year contracts are set to expire at the end of this school year. The district and employees’ unions would need to agree on a calendar as part of contract bargaining.

Unlike calendars, bell schedules don’t require a union-district agreement for implementation.

In addition to working it out in collective bargaining, Lockwood said an important consideration is how and when the district communicates the change with the families who send their kids to school there. After-school activities and partnerships around the communities, as well as union negotiations, are considerations in adjusting the district’s calendar.

Lockwood also considered families, who plan vacations sometimes years in advance, hedging on a consistent break schedule with three months off in the summers, a few days around Thanksgiving, two weeks in winter, a week in the spring and various holidays sprinkled throughout the year.

Though that’s been the calendar traditionally associated with schools for as long as anyone can likely remember, several schools around the county have embraced other schedules.

Freeman School District this year changed its calendar slightly for its 900 students in the Rockford area. Staff at East Valley’s Continous Curriculum School have thrived under an adjusted calendar for 27 years. Each school district’s calendar is organized differently, though still within the 180 days of state-mandated school years.

These changes would be years out, though Lockwood said they’re likely coming to the district.

“I think that there is a potential for a change to address the equity needs that we’re seeing for our students,” Lockwood said.