This Beaufort Co. school just moved up its start time because of student accidents

Starting next semester, Hilton Head Island High School students and parents may need to set their alarms slightly earlier.

Beginning Jan. 7, 2019, Hilton Head High will begin school at 8:30 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. — moving the school day up by 15 minutes.

During a presentation at Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Hilton Head High principal Amanda O’Nan said that the driving force behind the change was a concern for student safety.

About half of Hilton Head High students come to school via a mode of transportation other than a bus, and 470 of the students drive to school themselves, according to O’Nan.

In January 2018, a Hilton Head High student was run over and seriously injured by a community member near school grounds, O’Nan said Tuesday.

And during the first two weeks of the 2018-19 school year, Hilton Head High students were involved in at least four accidents while leaving school, according to O’Nan.

Under the current policies, Hilton Head Island high and middle schools both start at 8:45 a.m.

“We believe that the 15-minute window of time before the middle school dismisses could be enough time to allow our high school drivers to get off campus in a safer manner,” O’Nan said Tuesday night.

Traffic near the Hilton Head Island cluster schools has been a topic of conversation among administrators, parents and students for years. O’Nan said that really came to a head after the student was hit in January.

Since the end of the 2017-18 school year, O’Nan said she has received input from the principals at each Hilton Head school, as well as the school improvement councils, parents and students.

“As we all believe, safety is our priority, so anything we can do, we would like to put that in place,” she said Tuesday.

School start times were changed districtwide for the 2016-17 school year, when middle and high school start times were moved from about 7:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. and elementary schools from 8:30 a.m. to about 8 a.m.

Hilton Head Island middle and elementary schools will maintain the same start and end times.

This story was originally published November 13, 2018 at 8:49 PM.