A survey of parents, staff, students and community members indicated that easing traffic flow, narrowing age gaps on buses and considering sleep/health are among the considerations important to them as the district makes plans to open a new school.

With the expected opening of Charleswood School in September 2027, the survey was sent out to gauge opinions on how grade reconfigurations and transportation should work going forward. The School Committee reviewed the results of the survey and potential options for moving forward at its meeting Thursday night.

The realigned grades have Charleswood with Grades 2-4, Hopkins School with Grades 5 and 6 and the middle school with Grades 7 and 8. But all schools will be impacted, according to Superintendent Evan Bishop.

The total of 809 responses showed the community agrees on priorities but not necessarily on solutions, the superintendent said.

Respondents also expressed the need for early and transparent communication so they could sort out child care, work and athletic/extracurricular activity schedules in advance of the 2027-28 school year changes.

Bishop said there was a lot to think about and do in the summer months to come up with a few options before making a decision.

School Committee vice chair Jamie Wronka suggested having “listening tours” to hear feedback from people who may not have wanted to write down their opinions.

Bishop said those sessions could happen in September once this school year begins. The School Committee then could vote on a decision later that month.

Bishop said he wished the survey results clearly pointed in one direction, but in any case, “It’s not going to be a decision that everyone is going to love, unfortunately. … We’ll do what is best for students, staff and families given this grade reconfiguration.”

The superintendent discussed the differences between having a two-bus tier, as is done currently, or switching to three-bus runs.

The two-tier system, which Bishop called “less disruptive,” would mean a $400,000 increase for additional buses and the risk of not having enough bus drivers. It also would have Grades K-6 and Grades 5-12 riding on the same buses.

A three-tier model would be “more disruptive, less expensive,” according to the superintendent’s presentation. Advantages include improved traffic flow and circulation at drop off and pickup, with Grades K-4, Grades 5-8 and just high schoolers riding the buses together.

Disadvantages include a tighter window between start times. During bad weather, the timing could cause issues, Bishop said. The change also would have greater impact on family logistics, he added.

The current bus schedule has middle and high school students starting school at 7:55 a.m. and finishing at 2:25 p.m. Elementary school students begin at 8:55 a.m. and end at 3:20 p.m.

With a three-tier system, the start and end times could be 7:45 a.m. and 2:15 p.m., 8:25 a.m. and 2:55 p.m., and 9:05 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

Bishop emphasized that it was yet to be determined whether, for example, younger students would start earlier and/or older grades start later, with mixed opinions expressed on the survey.

“There was a lack of consensus on preferred models,” said Bishop.

The School Committee heard a detailed breakdown on the survey results. Highlights include:

• A total of 798 respondents thought sleep/health considerations should be a priority, with 76% calling the issue important or very important.
• Eighty-six percent of the respondents said consistent bus drivers are important or very important, and 55% ranked minimizing the age gap similarly.
• Costs (51%) and traffic issues (84%) were other factors deemed important or very important.
• Those responding to the survey were parents (63.5%), staff (26.1%), students (7.5%) and community members (2.5%).

Member Nancy Cavanaugh said other factors include Hopkinton kids having jobs, arts and other sports outside of the district’s offerings.

Cavanaugh noted she also had heard concerns from families having older siblings watching after their younger kids after school and the impact schedule changes may have on that situation.

Member Sandra Irwin asked about how before- and after-care programs could be expanded. Bishop replied the district is willing to come up with a plan to explore other options if a three-tier model is chosen. 

“We have started conversations with the [YMCA] in terms of what this might look like,” Bishop noted. “Exploring other options has to be part of that conversation as well.”

In response to another suggestion from Irwin, the superintendent said he reached out to administrators in other districts who had grade and schedule changes for advice.