A reminder to all parents and students: the Page Unified School District will be doing away with its usual late start Wednesday schedule this upcoming school year. Instead, the district will experiment with an early release time on Fridays.

While Page schools will be changing, Tse' Yaato' High School, which is part of the Coconino County Accommodation School District, will retain the late start on Wednesdays with normal release all days.
The change comes after the PUSD governing board approved a formal request from a group of teachers and staff. Many of the teachers pushed for the move because they believe it will help improve attendance among students. The idea, they said, is students and families often like to leave for vacations or trips on Fridays. Giving them an earlier window could incentivize parents to keep students in class all day, rather than taking the whole Friday off.
Executive secretary for the district Lynne Hoffman said the board and administrators don’t intend for the change to be permanent just yet. The 2017/18 school year will serve as a trial period of sorts so the district can monitor attendance for both staff and students alike.
The first day of the 2017/18 school year begins Wednesday, Aug. 9, and will kick off at 8 a.m. Students will be released at 1:30 p.m. every Friday.