NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Many students in the middle Tennessee area headed back to the classroom Monday for the first day of the school year.
Districts in Clay, Decatur, DeKalb, Fentress, Giles, Grundy and Pickett counties will report for half-days, while students in Dickson, Hickman, Lewis, Stewart and Wilson counties have a full day today.
In Wilson County, schools are implementing new bell schedules this year due to bus schedules within the district.
Nearly 70 percent of students in Wilson County ride the bus, and last year, some of the buses were late to school. As a result, officials decided to create new schedules.
Mt. Juliet High School and Mt. Juliet Middle School will both start at 8:15 a.m. and will dismiss at 3:15 p.m.
Wilson Central High School and West Wilson Middle School will both start at 8:30 a.m. and get out at 3:30 p.m. Carroll Oakland and Tuckers Crossroads K-8 Schools will both start at 7:15 a.m. and dismiss at 2:15 p.m.
With many schools starting at the same time, there have been many concerns about traffic, mainly between Mt. Juliet High School and the Middle School -- which are set about a mile apart.
Officials said parents should know there are three different routes between the schools. Amelia Hipps, the spokesperson for the district, has urged parents to prepare ahead of time.
“There are basically three different ways you can get from one to the other. If everyone goes in the same direction, that could potentially pose a backup,” said Hipps.
District officials said there will be new bus routes, as well but they have been doing dry runs to make sure the drivers know the routes.
As always, and really in any district, make sure to be patience and allow more time to navigate to your child's school.
