As the new school year approaches, Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler has announced important updates and reminders for parents. With just two weeks left until the start of the school year on Thursday, August 8th, parents are urged to prepare for several key changes, including free meals for students, new documentation requirements for immunizations and residency, and transportation updates.

Below are details of for the 2024-2025 school year from Superintendent Eddie Tyler…

Parents,

Well, here we are, just two weeks before we welcome your children back into the halls of Baldwin County Public Schools! Get excited or get sad, but the return to our regularly scheduled programming starts Thursday, August 8th!

I'm going to keep this short and to the point because I've got a few things I need to get in front of you as we start closing the gap to start day.

Meals will be FREE for everyone. Breakfast/lunch served in our cafeterias are available at no charge every school day. There are some extra details you need to know. Anything extra costs money (if your child wants to drink two milks, then you'll pay for one). The student must get a full meal for the "FREE" to kick in. If they don't buy a meal but only a side or a bag of chips - that costs money. So, in summary - students get free "meals" in our cafeterias but it’s not "free" for extras and it’s not "free" for individual items. Check out all the details and get a link to our school menus by visiting www.bcbe.org/childnutrition. 

Registration must have gone GREAT because I haven't heard nearly the complaints I've heard in the past, so let me go ahead and stir the pot. 

Two things to note here from changes in law and policy: 

You must provide documentation of your child's required immunizations PRIOR to the first day of school this year. Note – your child will NOT be admitted to school this year unless you have provided a copy of all required immunizations. This is a change from the past where we had a grace period. Well, grace has left, so we must have this documentation on hand before your child takes their class. If you are religiously opposed to immunizations, you need to provide the proper documentation BEFORE the first day of school. If you have a medical reason for not getting immunized, you need to provide the proper documentation BEFORE to the first day of school. The message here - get the immunization paperwork done BEFORE the first day of school or your child will be at home with you until it is done in accordance with state law.

You must provide the required proof of residency before the first day of school. Baldwin County Public Schools are set in very specific districts which manage our school populations. For many years, we have played detective in seeking out those who try to attend districts in which they do not reside. The system-wide policy now requires that families must provide proof of residency for EACH CHILD during the enrollment process. I know this can be cumbersome, and our team is working on a way to simplify this process through digital enrollment, but for now, I need you to know that if we do not have your child's proof of residency, they will not be admitted to school on day one.

For those who have been interested in Virtual School, registration is open and you still have the opportunity to give your child a flexible schedule in an outstanding educational program.

Transportation is always a mess on the first day/week/month of school. I have no reason to think it will be different this year. Traffic will be a mess. New parents will think they are driving in London and have no idea how to navigate a school drop-off line. The folks who don't have kids - they have no idea school starts on Thursday and they will be furious at the congestion and make for pleasant co-workers for the rest of the day. I've been through all of this and there just isn't any candy coating here. Leave early, think ahead. Take a test drive if you are attending a new school - and take a deep breath. It will all be okay. If your student is late, no problem. We are going to get through this together and the second week is ALWAYS better than the first.

If anything I said above gives you anxiety, then you might want to put your kid on our cheese wagons! Aka – our school buses! We offer transportation to all our schools from anywhere within their feeder pattern. Yes, it will be HOT but we have worked hard over the last year adding air conditioning to more buses than ever. It isn't on all buses yet, and I will admit it has been hard to come by. We currently have more than 30 air-conditioned buses on back order. As a result of this, we have prioritized our air-conditioned routes to the longest routes. We have also added additional training and procedures to get our buses cranked, the AC on or windows down before take-off to help deal with the traditional summer heat. But no matter what we do, AC or not, it will be hot in August and September. If you don't want to navigate the school driving issues, then join the thousands of families who ride the bus. More than a third of our students ride the bus and 99% of them do just fine with that experience.
 

That's all I've got for now. As always, I'm available by email with any complaints or compliments you might have to share. If you have a question, I always suggest you check with your school principal first, but feel free to message me if you don't get an answer.

Enjoy the rest of your summer break and thank you for trusting us with your children! See you soon!

Eddie Tyler, Superintendent
#BaldwinProud #CommunityStrong