Hillview Academy

Spencer County Community;

First, I want to thank you for your patience and flexibility as we’ve navigated the recent winter weather. Our road crews and maintenance teams have been working tirelessly, and we are excited to welcome everyone back to the classroom!

Spencer County Schools will reopen on Monday, February 2, 2026, on a 2-hour delay.

While the main roads are clearing nicely, this delay is a strategic decision centered on safety. By pushing our start time back by two hours, we provide our bus drivers with the benefit of full daylight. This extra visibility is crucial for navigating narrow routes and managing turnarounds that may still be partially obstructed by large piles of plowed snow.

Important Points for Monday:
Start Time: All schools will begin exactly two hours later than their normally scheduled time.
Bus Pick-up: Your child’s bus will arrive approximately two hours later than the usual morning pick-up.

Our drivers are the best in the business, and we want to ensure they have every advantage as they get our students to school safely. Please continue to exercise caution on your morning commute and keep an eye out for those yellow buses.

We look forward to seeing everyone on Monday morning!

Warmly,

Dr. Willie Foster, Superintendent
Spencer County Schools

Spencer County Community;

Our area is set for an impactful Winter weather event over the weekend. Please know that all activities for the weekend are cancelled. We will handle the impact of the weather on school for next week each evening. Our goal will be to make a decision for each day on the evening prior to a school day. This event is forecasted to have a heavy snowfall, icing, and prolonged temperatures below freezing. All of that will have a significant impact on operations.

As always, our goal is to ensure that families and our community receive timely and accurate information during events such as this.

Today, we are conducting a comprehensive test of our communication system to ensure that we are ready and that there are no issues. This test will include phone calls, text messages, emails, and app notifications. The same message will also be pushed to any/all Spencer County Schools social media platforms. The goal of our communication test is to verify that our systems are functioning correctly and that your contact information is accurate and up to date.

To help us ensure a seamless communication experience for everyone, we kindly ask that you take a few moments to do the following:

• Update Your Information: Whenever you change your phone number or email address, please call your child's school or the district office to update your contact information. We can't reach you if our records aren't accurate!

• Keep Your SC Schools App Updated: Please make sure the SC Schools app is installed and regularly UPDATED on your device and that notifications are turned ON. This is one of the fastest ways we will communicate important information.

• Let Us Know If You Didn't Receive It: If you did not receive this message as a phone call, text, email, and app notification, please let us know so we can help resolve the issue for you. You can contact Mr. Cameron Chesser: cameron.chesser@spencer.kyschools.us or Ms. Patti Lancaster: patti.lancaster@spencer.kyschools.us. They will be happy to correct any problem!

Be safe, stay warm, and stay healthy.

Best,

Dr. Willie Foster,

Superintendent

📅 Reminder: Spencer County Schools will be closed on Monday, January 19, 2026, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
We look forward to welcoming students back on Tuesday.

Spencer County Community;

We are committed to ensuring that our district communication systems are a point of pride. Our goal is to ensure that families and our community receive timely and accurate information, especially during emergencies, which is one of our top priorities.

Today, we are conducting a comprehensive test of our communication systems, which includes phone calls, text messages, emails, and app notifications. This test will help us verify that our systems are functioning correctly and that your contact information is accurate and up to date.

To help us ensure a seamless communication experience for everyone, we kindly ask that you take a few moments to do the following:

• Update Your Information: Whenever you change your phone number or email address, please call your child's school or the district office to have your contact information updated. We can't reach you if our records aren't accurate!

• Keep Your SC Schools App Updated: Please make sure the SC Schools app is installed and regularly UPDATED on your device and that notifications are turned ON. This is one of the fastest ways we will communicate important information.

• Let Us Know If You Didn't Receive It: If you did not receive this message as a phone call, text, email, and app notification, please let us know so we can help resolve the issue for you. You can contact Mr. Cameron Chesser: cameron.chesser@spencer.kyschools.us or Ms. Patti Lancaster: patti.lancaster@spencer.kyschools.us. They will be happy to correct any problem!

We will be sending our inclement weather plan around soon after Thanksgiving break. Have a safe and restful weekend!

Best,

Dr. Willie Foster,

Superintendent

𝐁𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: 𝐄𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐀𝐮𝐠𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝟏𝟖𝐭𝐡

As you are aware, we have hired three new full-time drivers to help address capacity challenges and improve on-time arrivals. With that being said, several bus route changes will take effect Monday. These updates will help balance loads, reduce travel times, and keep routes running efficiently. As we continue to grow as a district, we will face some growing pains. Attached is information relating to route changes, an announcement has also been posted in Rooms.

The following routes will have changes — some are major, some are minor: 𝟐, 𝟑, 𝟒, 𝟓, 𝟔, 𝟕, 𝟗, 𝟏𝟒, 𝟏𝟕, 𝟏𝟗, 𝟐𝟔, 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟖.

Please verify the stop times and locations for your student. We’ve made high school and middle school loading as efficient as possible—both schools now clear the lot in about three minutes. Our elementary departure times depend entirely on how quickly the high school/middle school routes run which is part of the puzzle we are working to solve. With many sports starting earlier, and temperature, our goal is to get students home as quickly as possible.

𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 – Please update your child’s transportation tag with the correct route before Monday morning. Stop times are estimates and will briefly change as we run these new routes. There are very few actual stop locations have changed. Some times may be big adjustments, but they’ll help close the gap between first and last drop-offs, get students home earlier, and leave a little more room on buses.

We know it will take a few days to settle into the new schedule, but these changes will make a positive difference for all riders.

If you have any questions, please email cameron.chesser@spencer.kyschools.us or send a message to me in Rooms and I will answer throughout the weekend.

𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐁𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: (it is easier to view on a computer) https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/12StwYiZocJG8K9uCE2OUJIW-gd_T78is?usp=sharing

𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐲 𝟏𝟖, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟓- — The Spencer County Schools Transportation Department is excited to release the preliminary 2025–2026 school year bus route schedule! To locate your student’s transportation details, simply find your road on the list and click the corresponding route number to view estimated pick-up and drop-off times.

Families can now access the full route list by clicking the link:

https://bit.ly/spencercountybusroutes

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬:

𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐔𝐩𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬- We are currently welcoming several new drivers, and some are still in training. As a result, routes and times may change slightly before school begins. We appreciate your patience and flexibility during this period.

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 & 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐁𝐮𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬- We are in the process of hiring several new bus monitors and hope to have monitor assignments finalized by the end of next week. These monitors play a vital role in keeping students safe and supported while on the bus.

𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐤-𝐔𝐩 & 𝐃𝐫𝐨𝐩-𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬- Please note that all pick-up and drop-off times are approximate—particularly during the first few weeks of school, when changes in enrollment are most common. Please make sure mailbox numbers are visible, this makes it much easier for drivers to locate a student stop.

𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭-𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬- Next week, families will receive an individual email confirming the transportation information we have on file for each student. Please review this carefully and let us know if anything needs to be updated.

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥-

𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘳-𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘉𝘶𝘴 𝘛𝘢𝘨𝘴- Just like last year, students will receive color-coded bus tags on the first day of school to help staff and students identify the correct bus quickly and safely.

𝘜𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘦 𝘕𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘴- Every student is assigned a route number, which is displayed on a small white magnet with a red number located on the front bumper of each school bus. We do not go by the bus number itself. In the event of a breakdown or bus switch, the route number is the consistent identifier. Please help your student learn to look for the red number on the white magnet on the front bumper each day.

𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 & 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡- As Spencer County continues to grow, some routes have been adjusted to better serve our students and neighborhoods. We thank you for your understanding as we continue improving transportation services districtwide.

𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦- Members of our Transportation Team will be available at Redifest and Open House events across the district. Stop by with any questions; we’re happy to help!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact:

Cameron Chesser

Director of Transportation

cameron.chesser@spencer.kyschools.us

Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to a safe, smooth, and successful 2025–2026 school year!