Great River School Change to School Start and End times
Due to circumstances beyond our control, Great River’s school day hours have been changed to 9:00 am to 3:50pm, with Big Canoe hours being from 7:45am to 5:45pm. We understand that this shift will have a real impact on many families’ plans for before and after school, so if you have any concerns or questions, please reach out to transportation@greatriverschool.org. Please review the Town Hall recording below containing very important information regarding unexpected changes to our start and end time to the school day for the coming school year. For more information, please see the FAQ below.
FAQ: Transportation and school Hours shift
When will the doors be open for students?
Adolescents will be able to enter the building at 8:30am through the North and South Main entrances. The Elementary green flag with go up at 8:50am.
When will we hear of the new bus times?
We are waiting for the bus company to give us revised times and will share those times with families who have requested transportation.
Why can’t we just change bus companies?
Great River has always had trouble finding a bus company that is willing to take on our 4 bus routes given that our needs are so much smaller than other larger schools who have larger contracts. With only 3 weeks before the school year starts, it is not possible to find a different company that is willing to add us as a client at this time.
What would happen if we refused to change our start time?
Then we would not have any buses, which would make it impossible for many families to continue sending their children to Great River.
Why is this happening so last-minute?
The merger between Northstar and Minnehaha occurred this summer after we had signed our contract with Minnehaha. We only just learned of this merger yesterday (8/14). They have changed the name of Minnehaha Transportation to Minnehaha Bus Lines, which will operate under the umbrella of Northstar Bus Lines. In our conversations with Northstar, it appears the merger has not been as smooth as they originally expected. Minnehaha was unable to retain its staff and drivers and Northstar is now working to hire enough drivers to maintain all their pre-existing routes as well as the acquired contracts from Minnehaha. This transition is challenging, but Northstar does generally have higher customer service expectations and we are hopeful that ultimately, this transition will be beneficial.
Could Great River just run its own buses?
This is something we have considered for years and it is an expensive and complicated undertaking. However, we will definitely revisit this idea for future years, given our frustrations around this incident.
What do I do if I don’t know how to make this change work?
We anticipate that more families will need to access Big Canoe for before and after care; please reach out to bigcanoe@greatriverschool.org as soon as possible, and by August 21 at the latest, so that we can plan for how many students to expect. If you need further support problem-solving and connecting with resources, please reach out to the program director for your child's level. If your child receives special education services please make sure to also communicate to Lindsey Hartjes, Assistant Special Education Director.
Where can I get more information and express my thoughts and feelings about this change?
Please reach out to transportation@greatriverschool.org