PHOENIX — Chandler Unified School District students are heading back to class on Wednesday as the new school year officially begins.
The early start date is due to the East Valley district’s year-round schedule, which has more breaks throughout the year and a shorter summer vacation.
Assistant Superintendent Mike De La Torre said the schedule helps students retain information without the learning loss that can occur during long breaks.
However, he acknowledged that the early start does cause some concerns surrounding Arizona’s record-breaking temperatures.
“With like athletics and things like that going on … our coaches that are outside have to take more frequent breaks and allow students to take off certain equipment for certain periods of time just to try to keep them cool as best we can,” he said.
That’s on top of indoor recess for younger kids and monitoring by school nurses.
What’s new this year for Chandler Unified School District?
Chandler Unified is Arizona’s second-largest district, with 40,000-plus students and over 5,000 employees at 45 school sites.
The district is introducing multiple new initiatives this year, including a semiconductor course for students and a crackdown on chronic absenteeism.
On the technology side, the district is rolling out a digital hall pass, which allows students to check in and out of class virtually. De La Torre explained this makes it easier for students and teachers while providing additional security measures, with administration able to see which students are outside of classic during an emergency.
He added it should also cut down on the time kids spend outside of class, with breaks being tracked. The hall pass also provides a way for parents to keep track of where their kids are in school.
“It does allow for a parent to kind of log in through the parent portal to see, ‘Hey, where is my student traveling during the course of the day? Are they visiting the counselor a lot? Are they visiting the bathroom a lot?’” he explained.
Funding for this journalism is made possible by the Arizona Local News Foundation.
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