OCPS | School Start Times Presentation

Summary

The presentation summarizes how Orange County Public Schools developed four cost-neutral school start time models to provide more sleep benefits for students while responsibly managing transportation logistics. It outlines key data on school locations, bus routes, attendance zones and eligible ridership that were analyzed by routing software to create the models. Assumptions were made about keeping certain programs' times unchanged. The four models simply stagger the start times of high school, elementary and middle school tiers by 20 minutes, with Model A representing the current schedule. The goal is transporting students efficiently within reasonable ride times while using district resources wisely.

Takeaways

• 😀 OCPS is a large school district serving over 200,000 students across 199 schools
• 🚌 The district operates over 860 bus routes transporting 70,000 students daily
• ⏰ Current bell times: HS 7:20am-2:20pm, ES 8:15-8:45am, MS 9:30am-3:57pm
• 🗺️ Many factors go into creating efficient bus routes across the district's 904 square miles
• ⏱️ Goal is bus rides under 40 mins for general ed, under 55 mins for special needs
• 💡 Software used to create cost-neutral start time models based on current ridership
• 🕑 Model A: Current times; Model B: All schools start 20 mins later
• 🕗 Model C: HS at 8am, then ES, then MS; Model D: ES at 8am, then HS, then MS
• 🙋‍♂️ Assumptions made include unchanged ridership % and no new programs affecting buses
• 📋 Please complete the survey at www.ocps.net to provide input

Q & A

What is the size of Orange County in square miles?

Orange County is 904 square miles.

How many schools does OCPS have?

OCPS has 199 schools - 125 elementary schools, 38 middle schools, 8 K through 8 schools, 20 high schools and 8 exceptional and alternative schools.

How many bus routes did OCPS have at the start of the 2019-2020 school year?

The start of the 2019-2020 school year began with 875 bus routes.

What are some factors considered when creating a bus run?

Factors considered are number of bus stops, location of bus stops, length of the run, number of students.

What is the goal for the length of a general education bus run?

The goal is to have a general education run average 40 minutes.

Why can changing high school start times affect technical colleges?

For technical colleges any change also will affect non K through 12 attendees.

What software does OCPS use for routing buses?

OCPS employees a routing software program called Trapeze map net n T.

What are the start times in Model B?

In Model B, high school starts at 7:40 a.m.

What are the start times in Model C?

In Model C, high school starts at 8:00 a.m., followed by elementary schools and then middle schools.

What are the start times in Model D?

In Model D, elementary schools start at 8:00 a.m., followed by high schools and then middle schools.

Outlines

00:00

😊 Overview of Creating Cost-Neutral School Start Time Models

This paragraph provides a brief overview of how cost-neutral school start time models were created, focusing on research showing benefits of later start times for adolescents. It mentions the goal is to maximize bus utilization and minimize costs by providing realistic and feasible bell schedule options, as previous models that added buses/drivers were cost prohibitive.

05:02

🏫 Factors Considered in Creating Bus Routes and Schedules

This paragraph discusses various factors involved in creating efficient OCPS bus routes and schedules, including: number/location of stops, length of runs, attendance zone sizes, ride times, bus occupancy rates, timing between school tiers, bus route optimization goals, special program constraints that limit flexibility, and use of routing software.

😀 4 Cost-Neutral Start Time Models

This paragraph outlines the 4 cost-neutral start time models (A-D) that were created using OCPS ridership data and routing software simulations. It notes assumptions made and current belt times. Model A is the current schedule. Models B-D stagger start times for each tier by 20+ minutes.

Keywords

💡bus routes

A bus route refers to the path a school bus takes to pick up and drop off students. Factors like the number and location of stops, length of the run, and number of students are considered when creating efficient routes. The goal is to maximize bus usage with around 3 runs per route while keeping ride times reasonable.

💡bell times/schedules

Bell times or schedules refer to the start and end times for school at different grade levels. The video discusses adjusting these times to allow better utilization of buses across elementary, middle and high schools. The current times are misaligned, leading to inefficiencies.

💡tiered system

A tiered busing system staggers start and end times for different school levels to maximize bus usage. For example, high school routes can run first, followed by elementary, middle school routes using the same buses. The tiers need sufficient time windows between them.

💡eligible riders

Eligible riders are students entitled to use school bus transport based on distance from school or other criteria. Currently OCPS transports 76% of around 86,000 eligible riders.

💡attendance zones

Attendance zones refer to the geographic area/boundaries that assign students to a specific school based on their home address. The size of zones impacts bus routes and ride times.

💡routing software

Routing software like Trapeze Map Net is used to plan and optimize bus routes and schedules efficiently. It incorporates student data, attendance zones and other constraints to create route simulations.

💡shuttle services

Some schools require shuttle services to transport students from satellite campuses. The schedules have to account for shuttle timings as they impact start times.

💡vocational programs

Vocational education programs with specific schedules, locations and transportation needs are considered when creating bell time models.

💡cost neutral

Cost neutral refers to changes that don't increase expenditures on buses and drivers. New bell models aim for cost neutrality by reusing existing resources without purchasing additional buses.

💡stakeholder survey

A survey collects inputs from parents, teachers and other stakeholders impacted by school schedule changes. Their feedback will inform the final bell time model selected.

Highlights

OCPS is the 8th largest school district in the US and transports 70,000 students daily

Current bell times: HS 7:20am-2:20pm, ES 8:15-8:45am, MS 9:30am-3:57pm

Goal is to create bus runs averaging 40 mins (gen ed) or 55 mins (special needs)

Software maps eligible ridership; currently OCPS transports ~76% of eligible

Start times for 9th grade centers and special schools cannot be flexible

Model A: Current start times (no change)

Model B: All tiers start 20 minutes later

Model C: HS 8am, ES, MS later

Model D: ES 8am, HS and MS later

Models aim to be cost neutral for buses and teachers

Assumptions: ridership % and # of ES will not change considerably

Factors in route design: # stops, location, run length, # students

Goal is 3 runs per bus (HS, ES, MS)

Larger attendance zones need more buses to lower ride times

Enough time needed between tiers for buses to complete runs

Transcripts

This is a brief summary of how the cost-neutral school start time models

were created for consideration there is much research regarding the benefits of

a later start time for adolescents which is not up for discussion at this time.

There are also many factors for establishing a realistic and feasible

bell schedule. The goal is to provide models that maximize the use of the

buses and keep costs at a minimum. In the past other models were created that

added significant costs of additional buses and drivers due to budgetary

constraints. Those models were eliminated from consideration this brief

presentation will provide a short summary of how bus routes are created

and the four cost neutral models under consideration we will provide an

overview of the district's profile factors in creating a bus run factors in

creating a bus route the for cost neutral models and provide a reminder of

how to complete our survey. Orange County is 904 square miles OCPS is the eighth

largest school district in the nation and fourth largest in the state. OCPS

has 199 schools serving a student population of over two hundred and

eleven thousand. Of the 199 schools 125 are elementary schools

thirty-eight middle schools eight K through eight schools twenty high

schools and eight exceptional and alternative schools. Transportation

services ended last school year operating 860 bus routes a route usually

includes a high school elementary and middle school bus run the number of bus

routes can change as needs or ridership changes. The start of the 2019 2020

school year began with 875 bus routes transporting approximately 70,000

students daily. The current belt times our high school starts at 7:20 a.m. and

release at 2:20 p.m. Elementary and K through 8 schools

between 8:15 and 8:45 a.m. and released between 3:00 and 3:30 p.m.

middle school starts at 9:30 a.m. and release at 3:57 p.m. factors that are

taken into consideration when creating a bus run are number of bus stops, location

of bus stops, length of the run, number of students. Creating a bus run or a trip to

and from the school is a delicate balance of time and distance. Adding more

bus stops to transport more will use fewer buses but will have longer bus

ride times. The goal is to have a general education run average 40 minutes and a

special needs run average 55 minutes there are over 13,000 bus stops

throughout the district many factors are considered when identifying an

appropriate bus stop. Bus stop location is determined by considering factors

like sight distance, location of student residences, identifiable student clusters,

number of students, the distance between stops and pedestrian access.

Depending on the attendance zone and topography maximizing the bus occupancy may extend

the ride time for students getting to school. The size of the attendance zones

will impact the number of buses needed to serve the schools. For larger zones

more buses will be scheduled to lower the ride times the window of operation

is the time needed between tiers - high school, elementary and middle school.

Time is needed in between start times to allow buses to pick up and deliver for

each tier. If there is not enough time buses cannot be used for another run and

additional buses are needed for the next tier. The goal is to create as few bus

routes as possible to transport eligible students to and from school safely and

as efficiently as possible the goal is to have at least three runs per bus.

This means when possible one bus route will have a high school, elementary school and

middle school run assigned. There are 20 high schools and they have the largest

attendance zones. Due to the size some bus runs are

longer and take more time to get students to and from school.

There are 38 middle schools and the size of the attendance zones vary. The more rural

schools have larger zones versus the urban schools.

There are 125 elementary schools and they have the smallest zones.

to help create efficient routes for approximately eighty six thousand eligible students OCPS employees

a routing software program called Trapeze map net n T. Student data from the district

student database is downloaded into the transportation routing software nightly.

The student data is then reviewed by our routing specialists to confirm that the

students are in the correct attendance zone along with any special issues on

their record such as ESE designation.

There are factors that may not be

flexible that will impact the development of a route.

These factors include but are not limited to the ninth grade Center is needing to start 10

minutes earlier due to shuttles to and from the main campus.

Special schools where the start times cannot be flexible. Half day pre-k vocational education

programs, ESE high school transition programs and Technical College campus

start times and shuttles from high schools. For technical colleges any

change also will affect non K through 12 attendees.

Here are the proposed cost neutral start time models.

The following models were created by using the

district's routing software and current ridership percentages.The routing

software program created the models based on all eligible ridership.

Currently OCPS transports approximately 76% of the eligible riders.

Some assumptions were made during the creation of these models those were that

positive pathways will remain on the 4th tier, that the number of elementary

schools meaning an extra our will not change considerably,

that the ridership percentage will not change considerably, that any existing program

changes or new programs will not affect the number of buses needed.

Model A

This is the current belt time schedule the proposed start time models will be cost

neutral for both buses and teachers

Model B, this model just moves each tier 20 minutes later with high school

starting at 7:40 a.m.

Models C, these are the start times based on the simulations for high school

to start at 8:00 a.m. followed by elementary schools and then middle

schools.

Model D, these are the start times based on the simulations for elementary

schools to start first at 8:00 a.m. followed by high schools and then middle

schools.

Please remember to complete the survey you can find the link to the survey on

our home page at www.ocps.net