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Bell Schedule

APS New Bell Schedule

Students and families will be dealing with a host of changes when the new school year kicks off on August 7th – everything from a later start and new bell schedules to longer school days for elementary students and free meals for all students.

The changes are aimed at helping students succeed in the classroom. Some were driven by the state, while others were recommended by Albuquerque Public Schools committees.

ALL APS schools will have a new bell schedule this fall. Generally, the new schedule has later start and end times for all high school and most middle school students, but the move will mean earlier days at elementary schools.

Matheson Park ES Instructional Schedule

  • First Bell: 8:40 A.M.
  • Tardy Bell: 8:45 A.M.
  • Student Pick-Up: 4:10 P.M.

The staggered bell schedules are necessary to accommodate students who ride buses. APS doesn’t have enough bus drivers to consolidate start times.

Finally, all APS students will receive free meals this year, regardless of their family’s income. State lawmakers and the governor signed off on Senate Bill 4 last year, which requires public schools to provide healthy breakfasts and lunches to students at no charge.

Abbreviated Day Plan

The abbreviated day begins two hours later than the regular schedule but ends at the regular time. The most common use of this schedule occurs when severe weather causes dangerous conditions which could endanger the safety of students and employees on their way to or from the school.

The decision to impose an abbreviated schedule will be announced through:

If no announcement is made by 6:00 AM, a regular school day will be held. Occasionally it will be obvious the preceding evening that weather conditions will force the closing of schools the next day. When this happens, an announcement will be made on the 10:00 PM news and the APS website.

Morning City Parks and Recreation before-and-after-school program does not operate on abbreviated days.