All District U-46 elementary schools will start at the same time and middle schools five minutes later than they do now when the next school year starts in August. The changes were announced in a memo sent by U-46 Deputy Superintendent of Operations Kyle VonSchnase to staff, parents and community Mo nday and presented to the U-46 School Board at its Monday night meeting. Adjustments are needed to ensure on-time bus arrivals and to reduce delays, VonSchnase said. This academic year, the district extended the school day for elementary students by 20 minutes. Under the current schedule, half of the 38 elementary schools have classes from 7:50 a.m. to 2:10 p.m. and the other half are in school from 8:20 a.m. to 2:40 p.m. The 2026-27 school year will have all elementary schools starting classes at 7:55 a.m. and ending at 2:15 p.m. Middle school students will be in session from 9:05 a.m. to 3:41 p.m. — five minutes later than this year. There will be no change for high school students, who start at 7:40 a.m. and end at 2:55 p.m. VonSchnase’s memo also included a reminder that the school calendar has been adjusted to accommodate the various construction projects going on throughout the district. The first day of school will be Thursday, Aug. 27, about two weeks later than normal. Provided no emergency days are used, the last day of school will be Wednesday, June 9, 2027. This year classes will end Friday, May 29, one day later than scheduled because the district needed to use a snow day earlier in the year. The memo also reminds families that early registration is now open and that registration as soon as possible will help the district plan for 2026-27 school year. At Monday’s board meeting, Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Lela Majstorovic said that the district is seeing strong early engagement. “Currently over 30% of our projected 884 known kindergarten students have already registered through early registration,” Majstorovic said. “We anticipate that number will continue to grow as we move toward districtwide registration opening.” Registration begins Wednesday, April 1. All schools will hold events and provide scheduled appointments to offer assistance, she said. Detailed bus route information will be available through the district’s online Infinite Campus Portal by Monday, Aug. 24. The transportation department is analyzing routes based on updated attendance boundaries and enrollment data, with a focus on efficiency, safety and reasonable ride times, VonSchnase’s memo said. To register for the coming school year, parents and guardians should call 847-888-5000, Ext. 5715 (English) or Ext. 5016 (Spanish), or go online at u-46.org/registration. Instructional fees are not yet being collected. Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News. ...read more read less