26-27 DELAYED START FRIDAYS FOR PLC'S
The Douglas County School District is implementing dedicated Professional Learning Communities (PLC) time for staff starting August 21st. This means DCSD elementary and middle schools will have a delayed start every Friday starting August 21st. This is already occurring in DCSD’s high schools.
Gold Rush Rolling Start & Start Times for 2026-2027
* Monday - Thursday: Rolling Start 8:20-8:30AM - Start Time 8:30AM
* Friday: Rolling Start 9:10-9:20 AM - Start Time 9:20 AM
* The first delayed start Friday will be August 21st
* Fridays - Delayed Start Due to Weather: Rolling Start 9:50-10:00 AM - Start Time 10:00 AM
We recognize that having a delayed start time on Fridays will require some adjustments for families, however we are certain the trade-off will be worth it. In addition to what we have seen at our high schools, research from across the country shows how much of a difference PLCs can make in the academic outcomes for all students.
DCSD is the highest-scoring school district in the Denver metro area, and until now, the only one without dedicated PLC time. Think of what we’ll be able to achieve when our educators are using their dedicated Friday morning PLC time to full effect!
Staff will gain focused time to work together, analyze data to make student-level adjustments in their teaching, and align their use of our curriculum to ensure learning goals are met.
You may have questions about how this change affects other aspects of the school day, and we have answers for those, too:
Transportation: All school buses, including special education buses, will start 45 minutes later on Fridays. Bus routes will run exactly 45 minutes later.
Child Care: Elementary students will still have access to Before and After School Education (BASE) on Friday mornings.
School Breakfast: Breakfast will still be offered to students.
Preschool: There will be no impact on preschool schedules. Currently, preschool staff already use Friday mornings for planning and PLCs.
Delayed Starts Due to Weather: If a delayed start is called on a Friday due to inclement weather, that day's PLC time for staff will be canceled. The inclement weather delay means school will start 90 minutes (an hour and a half) later than the school's normal (Monday-Thursday) start time. There would be no additional delay for PLC time. Gold Rush would start at 10 AM on Fridays when a delayed start is called by the District due to weather. The rolling start would be from 9:50-10:00AM.
These, plus additional information about special education, inclement-weather delays, instructional time and more can be found on the DCSD PLC webpage.
In case a visual reminder helps you, we also made a downloadable 2026-2027 school-year calendar with the late-start Fridays identified.