Schools With No Bells

What Happens When the Bells Go Silent: How Teacher Autonomy Transformed Our School Culture

I was standing in the commons area of Corbett High School with the principal during the final interview process for the superintendent position, when, with no warning or provocation, all of the students began leaving their classes and filling the commons. A huge smile came across my face as I turned to the principal and asked, “Wait, do you not have bells?” “No, we turned them off years ago,” she replied. Everywhere I turned, the Corbett School District was more and more the perfect fit for me.

As a teacher in a bell‑driven system, I often felt frustrated by an arbitrary bell dictating when my lesson had to begin and end. More than once, I would be in the middle of wrapping up a thought when the bell rang and students immediately stood up to leave. “Hold on, I am not done. Sit back down,” I would exclaim. I am currently teaching a class in Corbett High School, and it is so empowering as a teacher to be able to control the beginning and ending of my class.

Implementation

During my second year as a middle school assistant principal, a new principal was hired at our school. He came in with lots of energy and enthusiasm and we clicked immediately. As we were preparing for our first full school year together, he burst into my office and asked, “What do you think about turning off the bells?” My immediate reaction was, “You are crazy,” but the more I thought about it, and the more we discussed it, the more I began to buy in. 

Teachers, not arbitrary bells, were controlling the narrative.

Turning off the bells could not have been more successful. Tardiness was a constant battle with middle school students, especially when a student was in the classroom doorway when the bell rang and the teacher would mark them tardy. When the bells turned off, tardies became nearly non-existent because teachers began class when they were ready, and students were only tardy if they came into the classroom after the teacher began class. Teachers, not arbitrary bells, were controlling the narrative.

Prior to my being appointed principal, my middle school had developed a culture where students would congregate in the courtyard between each class. When the bell rang to begin the next class, they would run to class. Unfortunately, they were already late. Tardies were obviously a major problem. In an ironic role reversal, while preparing for our first full school year, I introduced the idea of no bells to my assistant principal. Her reaction was identical to my own initial skepticism, and she tried repeatedly to persuade me to abandon the idea before teachers returned in August. But after seeing its success in my previous school, I stood firm. 

After the first week without bells, students stopped gathering in the courtyard between classes and began heading directly to their next classroom. Teachers were able to start instruction sooner because they were no longer waiting for students to arrive after a bell or debating whether someone was tardy. Once again, tardies became nearly non‑existent. Teachers were especially excited to end lessons on their own terms rather than being interrupted by an arbitrary bell.

Challenges

The most difficult part of implementing no bells in both schools was convincing the staff.

I remember reading a book in one of my doctoral classes that discussed how bells in schools were used to prepare students for work in factories. 

I remember reading a book in one of my doctoral classes that discussed how bells in schools were used to prepare students for work in factories. Even though this is not entirely true, I used it as I explained to the staff that we are no longer in the business of preparing students for factory work. The buildings our students would most likely work in no longer have dedicated offices, or even desks for that matter, let alone bells to dictate their time. 

The most convincing "argument," though, was giving teachers back control over the start and end of their class time. Providing teachers with that autonomy was a game changer. Of course, each year there are teachers who need to be reminded to not let their students out of class too early, but those conversations are minor compared to the near elimination of the tardiness argument. Additionally, classroom clocks are not always synchronized (often off by minutes), which led to another small issue. To address this, I purchased digital clocks that are wifi synched ensuring each classroom was using the same time. 

Having worked in schools with no bells for the past 13 years, I have to say that the positives greatly outweigh any challenges that arise. Teachers often comment about how much calmer the school atmosphere is after bells were turned off. A guest teacher recently told me how much they prefer no bells in the high school, but they have to remain aware of the time to know when to release the students.