One high school in two different buildings creates multiple challenges. Student safety and transitions between buildings are two of the biggest challenges.

This year, all students will be required to wear their student IDs at all times during the school day.

Students will be allowed to remove IDs during physical education classes and in any settings in which they may pose a safety hazard, such as lab and shop classes. 

All returning juniors and seniors have been issued a student ID.

If your child has lost their ID they will need to purchase a new one.

Student IDs have been, and continue to be, how students will be able to gain entry into the buildings via controlled-access doors.

All freshman and sophomore students will be issued a new student ID once they are printed. All students will be given a lanyard to wear with their IDs. Students who forget or lose their IDs will be given temporary student ID stickers to wear each day until they receive their new ID.

Students will not be disciplined for lost or forgotten IDs, until it becomes a safety issue or disruption when they refuse to wear or delay replacing the ID.

This year's incoming 9th graders will be the first class to experience the full implementation of Academies at OHS beginning with the Academy Exploration class. Academies allow all students to make better connections between their coursework, current and future interests, as well as their strengths and talents. This year, 10-12 graders will also experience various Academy activities based on which Academy they chose during scheduling. Students will be able to change Academies should their interests change.

If your student has a class on their schedule and the room number says “OIC” followed by a number, that class will meet in the new, state of the art Ozark Innovation Center. We cannot wait to begin using this new facility! While it will not be 100% complete, we anticipate holding classes there on the first day of school. However, all Meet the Teacher Night activities Thursday, Aug. 18 will occur at the main high school campus so that work may continue at the OIC. 

Students will have access to shuttle buses, which will run between the main campus and the OIC each block. Students who drive will be able to use their own private transportation between buildings as well. We will take time during the first day of school to make sure all students understand where to go and when to be there in order to make these transitions. 

The following example is how the transition will occur for students: If a student had 3rd block at the high school main campus and 4th block at the OIC, eight minutes prior to the end of 3rd block there will be a bell. Students who transition buildings will either then make their way to the bus lane to catch a shuttle or to their own private transportation to go to the OIC. Eight minutes is approximately how long it takes to exit one building and drive to the other. Once they arrive at the OIC they will have their normal five minute passing time between classes. 

We will monitor the bell schedule and traffic. We will make adjustments to our timing as needed for student travel between buildings. Our classes are 90 minutes long and OHS staff understands this transition and are working to maximize our instructional practices. Because of this, student learning will not suffer due to this additional 8 minutes of transition time.

In an effort to create a more consistent schedule for students this year we will establish a set schedule for A/B days.

• A days will be Monday and Wednesday.
• B days will be Tuesday and Thursday. Fridays will alternate weekly.

This will provide a more consistent schedule throughout the year. As students progress through high school, this established schedule allows for fewer conflicts with OTC and off-campus opportunities such as internships with our community business partners. The schedule will be posted on the Ozark High School webpage along with our bell and lunch schedules.

We strive to get every student the best possible class schedule. However, we cannot guarantee that every student gets the exact schedule they requested.

Our counseling department will process schedule changes when the following occurs:

• incomplete schedules
• duplicate classes
• missing prerequisite classes
• or other academic reasons

We do not accommodate course change requests based upon teacher preference.

The schedule change process will begin on Aug. 17. We ask that all students requesting a schedule change pick up a paper form in the high school office. We additionally ask that parents sign this form in order for us to ensure that parents, students, and our staff all work collectively regarding each student’s schedule.