NEAR WEST SIDE — After discussions with CPS leaders this week, all 1,900 students at Whitney Young Magnet Academy will now start school at 8 a.m. as they did in past years, the school's principal announced Wednesday.
The move comes one week after Dr. Joyce Kenner announced students would have a staggered start time for the 2015-2016 school year, a compromise with Chicago Public School leaders as the district planned to make big changes to the district's bell schedule earlier this summer.
While on vacation, Kenner learned that some CPS schools were allowed to revert back to their preferred schedules, she wrote in a latest email to parents. When she returned, she contacted top CPS leaders to discuss removing the staggered start time at Whitney Young.
Ultimately, CPS leaders agreed that the school could return to its original bell schedule with all students starting classes at 8 a.m. with dismissal at 3:15 p.m.
"As your principal, I want to assure you we will always address school issues with our students’ best interests in mind," Kenner wrote. "Please continue to reach out to me with any concerns and know I am fighting for our students every single day!"
In July, CPS officials initially confirmed plans to change the bell schedules at 60 CPS high schools and 17 elementary schools, but later announced that 82 total schools would shift schedules as much as an hour for the upcoming 2015-2016 school year.
On Monday, CPS officials confirmed 34 schools will now keep their same start time after parents and principals voiced their concerns.
“By engaging principals and learning about the many unintended consequences the changing bell times caused, we decided to rescind those changes that had a negative impact on schools," board President Frank Clark said in a statement.
At some affected high schools, start times will shift to 9 a.m. and affected elementary schools, for the most part, will shift to an earlier start time of 7:30 or 7:45 a.m.
Initially, CPS said the bell and bus changes would save the district $13.5 or $9 million, but now they say the savings will be about $5 million.
As DNAinfo previously reported, CPS also plans to cut at least 280 bus stops throughout the city, but the school system was not releasing a list of consolidated stops until "later this summer."
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