By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PAWTUCKET -- In an effort to better coordinate with the city’s public transit schedule, school administrators have moved the starting time at Tolman and Shea high schools to 8 a.m.

When the school year starts on Aug. 27, the day will begin at 8, 10 minutes later than the previous starting time. Dismissal will also be 10 minutes later, at 2:30 p.m.
On Wednesdays, which are early dismissal days, students will now be let out of school at 1:35 p.m.. The early dismissal is to allow teachers to have common planning time, according to state education requirements.
JoAnn LaBranche, assistant to the superintendent for high school reform, said the changes were made to accommodate the many students who use RIPTA buses to get to school. She said a significant number of Tolman students, particularly those living along the RIPTA routes in the vicinity of Beverage Hill Avenue and Prospect Street, were arriving at school several minutes late every day. “They were missing the first five to seven minutes of their first class, every day,” LaBranche said. “They weren’t penalized, because it wasn’t their fault, but it wasn’t fair to them.”
LaBranche said school officials met with RIPTA representatives several times to see if bus schedules could be changed.
They were told it couldn’t be done due to scheduled shift changes for RIPTA drivers.
Also, she said, for the affected students to take an earlier bus would mean that they would arrive too early -- almost an hour before school starts -- a different concern to school officials, particularly during inclement weather. “We can’t have students standing outside for almost an hour,” LaBranche said.
The change is not expected to interfere with any of the School Department’s school bus schedules, LaBranche said. For the most part, only special needs high school students are transported by school buses, she said.