Note to Parents: Remember, Public School Hours Have Changed

calendars have been sent out to all student households with this fall's back-to-school date of Sept. 4, the day after Labor Day Monday.

But only on the calendar's last page – the School Directory page – are start and stop times shown for your school.

Guessing that many parents know which school their kids go to and won't look at that page, Wauwatosa Patch wanted to remind everyone with WPS children that school start and stop times have been changed for most schools this year.

Schools at each level now start and let out at the same time, with the three levels staggered at 10-minute intervals.

All elementary school start times are now the same, with 5-year-old kindergarten through 5th-grade classes all starting at 8:20 a.m. and letting out at 3:20 p.m., except on Wednesdays when release time is 2:20 p.m.

Half-day junior, or 4-year-old, kindergarten classes are either from 8:20 to 10:55 a.m. or 12:30 to 3:20 p.m.

Middle school hours at both and are from 8:10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and also have early release on Wednesdays at 2:30 p.m.

High school hours at both and have been set at 8 a.m. to 3:10 p.m.,  with release at 2:10 p.m. Wednesdays.

, particularly at two locations:

On West Center Street, West High, Whitman Middle and Eisenhower Elementary schools stand in a row and had start times staggered by just three-minute increments last year, all near the 8 o'clock hour. The close times, clustered around rush hour, contributed to an unsafe glut of traffic in the area.

Around East High and , similar congestion prompted school officials to look at a much earlier start time for high school students, but .

Adopting later start times for all elementary schools was also seen as a move away from rush hour and toward more safety, as many schools suffer congestion around 8 a.m.

The move to start all school levels at the same time, especially at the elementary level, should also lead to more efficient use of staff who teach or counsel at more than one school, officials felt.

Supply lists all the same for elementary grades, too

School supply lists for all elementary schools have also been regularized, with the same supplies required for each grade level at every building.

The elementary supply list is attached in the photo gallery or can be downloaded here from the Wauwatosa School District website.