Re-framing the BHPSNJ Transportation Discussion
In 2023, all Chatham Public Schools pushed their start times forward, allowing students to get more rest.
The following start and end times were implemented September 2023:
Early Childhood Centers 8:55 am – 3:25 pm
Elementary 9:00 am – 3:30 pm
Middle 7:55 am – 2:30 pm
High School: 8:20 am – 3:00 pm
In Ridgewood, the Board recently approved a 35-minute later start for high school students at 8:20 am.
Similarly, the Bernards Township Board of Education voted to approve a later start for their schools with the added benefit of saving nearly 1 million dollars on transportation costs. Bernards Township Public Schools start times for 2024-25 will be as follows:
Elementary 9:00 am – 3:30 pm (currently 8:45am-3:15pm)
Middle 7:30 am – 2:00 pm (currently 7:45am – 2:20pm)
High 8:20 am – 2:58 pm (currently 7:35am – 2:25pm)
The schedule for Bernards allows for some Triple Tiered Bussing. Essentially, this means a fleet of 50 individual busses needed to transport all students to elementary, middle, and high schools would and could be cut significantly as a single bus could essentially, due to the time allowances and student need, handle up to 3 routes transporting kids to middle, high and elementary schools in one morning. The biggest concerns cited were issues with late buses or missing drivers and how a triple-tiered system would affect more students with a longer response time.
Chatham Superintendent of Schools Dr. LaSusa attended Bernards Board of Ed meeting to provide insight and assist with answering stakeholder questions. The biggest advice LaSusa offered was that he recommended having the youngest students start the earliest and the oldest students start the latest.
Both Chatham and Bernards TWP opted for the revised start times for cost savings and the overwhelming evidence that directly correlates the amount of sleep for an adolescent impacts learning mental health and safety. This topic has also been recurring in discussions at the state level. Last year, a poll of NJ residents found that 55% of those surveyed supported a proposal from the state legislature that would not permit schools to start before 8:30 am. 30% of those surveyed opposed the proposed law. The survey was in direct connection to two legislative bills introduced in May of 2023: https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/
Naturally, there is no one-size-fits-all when considering what is best for a child, a district, a school, or a particular grouping of students and families. However, the trend in many districts is moving towards this later-start model as the benefits overwhelmingly outweigh the negatives. Making changes to start and end times comes along with a labyrinth of logistical concerns ranging from before/after care for younger students to the impact a later dismissal will have on middle and high school sports and extracurricular schedules.
Bussing and general transportation issues are not unique to BHPS. Many districts that switched to new schedules had reported problems with bussing and transportation. That’s not to say that changing start and end times will resolve the issues facing BHPS, but, like most things, this option would be worth exploring.
Data surrounding the advocacy for later start time for high school students as it pertains to Bernards Township public schools can be viewed here: https://drive.google.com/file/
Ridgewood change of start time: https://abc7ny.com/ridgewood-h
NJ School Start Times: https://www.nj.com/education/2
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