Later School Start Times In Bernards Township? Input Wanted By District

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Discussions on whether to consider alternative school start time schedules and related tiering of bus routes will continue this month at Bernards Township Board of Education meetings.

Superintendent Nick Markarian sent a note out to the community urging parents, students, and staff to consider all of the previous information shared on the topic over the years as the district is planning to send out a survey later this month.

"We are beginning to hone in on scenarios that might serve our district best," said Markarian in the latest SOS Express.

The school district has been considering later school start times dating back to 2020. Markarian also shared some links to previous meetings where it was discussed for the community to refresh their memory.

On Jan. 13, 2020, a BT Connect Meeting was held explaining the rationale behind the idea of later school start times. Below are the links to the slide decks from the meeting as well as a link to a recording of it.

• Sleep or Not to Sleep - What is the Real Question?, Matthew J. Speesler, M.D.
• The Science Behind Changing School Start Times to Improve Health and Education, Rochelle Zozula, PhD, DABSM
• Video Recording

Two follow-up BT Connect meetings on later school start time schedules and related transportation scenarios were also held. Below are links to those.

• March 5, 2020 - Later School Start Times
• May 22, 2023 - Triple Tier Busing and School Start Times - PPT Presentation

Markarian also shared two possible schedules to consider to be able to implement this change in the district.

The schedule on the left below would be a double-tier bus schedule because the same buses used for Annin would be used a second time each morning and afternoon to do Ridge routes (see blue). Separate buses for Mount Prospect School and Cedar Hill School would also be used a second time each morning and afternoon to do Oak Street School and Liberty Corner School routes (see pink). Since the aim is to use each bus for two routes each morning and afternoon, the schedule is double-tier.

The schedule on the right below would endeavor to use each bus for three morning routes and three afternoon routes; hence it is a triple-tier schedule. For example a single bus would first do an Annin route, then a Ridge route and then an Elementary school route each morning and each afternoon.

"Of course the schedules below have pros and cons depending on your perspective but key in both is achieving a significant increase in the opportunity for high school students to get more sleep. The two examples may need minor adjustments to be optimized (we are having a consultant review our options) but they do represent timing that we believe can work so they give you something to consider," said Markarian.

The school board has two meetings coming up this month - one on Nov. 13 at William Annin Middle School Auditorium and another on Nov. 27 at Ridge High School PAC.

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