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APS Says Buses Won’t Pick Students up Before 6 a.m.

August 2nd, 2013

As students in the Atlanta Public Schools head back to school next week, they’ll have to transition from summer schedules to some early bus pickup times. But some students and parents may be relieved to know they don’t have to be at the bus stop quite as early as they thought.

Hear the audio version of this story.

Some APS parents were no doubt surprised when they found out their children had to greet the bus before 6 a.m. But APS Associate Superintendent Steve Smith says they can relax.

“The 5:45 a.m. pickup time has been the issue that has triggered quite a bit of interest from our parents,” Smith says. “That was posted in error and we have since taken that from our website.”

Nonetheless, some buses pick students up as early as 6:10, when school starts at 8 a.m. Smith says kids aren’t likely to drag when buses drop them off at school by 7:30.

“Primarily students will have what’s referred to as sponge activities, which gets them ready for the learning day after they’ve had time to comfortably eat breakfast,” he says. “So, they’ll eat breakfast, participate in sponge activities, and then they’ll be ready for the academic day to start at 8 a.m.”

APS starts school next Wednesday. Cobb, Douglas and Gwinnett Counties all go back to school next week. Click here to see the APS bus schedule for the 2013-2014 school year.