New Start and End Times for Fort Worth ISD Students

 ‘Attendance Adds Up’ for Students

Starting this fall the Fort Worth ISD will implement a new daily class schedule. While it means ten to 15 more minutes in class for students, the benefits – both instructionally and operationally – are many.  And, FWISD will join many other districts in aligning with a new state law based on minutes, not days.

In 2015 the Texas Legislature changed the way school districts account for student instructional time. Instead of the old 180-day calendar, lawmakers decided that students must be in class at least 75,600 minutes each year.

Under our ongoing campaign of Attendance Adds Up, the District is unveiling the following schedule:

• Fort Worth ISD’s traditional high schools will now begin at 8:25 a.m. and end at 3:40 p.m.
• Middle schools will begin at 9:15 a.m. and end their day at 4:30 p.m.
• And, traditional elementary school students in the Fort Worth ISD will begin at 7:50 a.m. and conclude at 3:00 p.m.

The District’s Schools of Choice, early college high schools, and other specialty schools will also extend their instructional day but some with different beginning and ending times.  See below for a complete chart.

Under the new state law, teachers will work the same number of hours as they did under the 180-day calendar.

Changing from days to minutes (a day is considered to be at least 420 minutes) brings benefits to student and their families as well as districts.

The increased learning time will provide more opportunity for integrated instruction. It will benefit students who may need additional assistance. 

Also, under the old 180-day system the Fort Worth ISD had to include two weather make-up days. These days were often scheduled for Good Friday or for the day after school was scheduled to end. Allowing FWISD to count, and accumulate minutes, however, allows for the elimination of the scheduled “weather days.”  By adding 10 or 15 minutes to each day, students will gain enough minutes to still meet the state required goal without adding extra days.

The message of Attendance Adds Up –which, when launched, addressed the importance of going to school every day, now also means making every minute count!