Bell Schedule: Parent Survey Results
Key findings at a glance:
📊 The 8:00–3:30 schedule (longest day) was parents' #1 choice — best average rank (2.13/4) and 48% ranked it first.
⏰ The two shorter-day options (8:00–3:00 and 8:15–3:15, both 7 hours) were the least preferred — 8:00–3:00 finished last with the worst average rank (3.00/4) and 48% ranking it dead last.
📅 59% prefer no weekly early release. 32% favored it. 10% had no preference.
💼 The two groups have very different priorities: "keep current" parents are driven by work schedules (49%); "early release" parents are driven by student wellness (62%).
🏫 55% said earlier dismissal would increase aftercare needs — a direct cost to families.
A note on methodology: The school's CORA response contained 307 redacted cells. Because the school had previously provided the unredacted survey file, we matched each redacted row to its original and restored every suppressed value (122 of 126 rows matched uniquely; the remaining 4 formed pairs with identical values). This analysis uses the fully reconstructed, parent-only dataset.
Bell Schedule Preference Rankings
Parents ranked four schedule options from 1 (most preferred) to 4 (least preferred). The closer the average rank is to 1, the more preferred that option is. The results show a clear hierarchy favoring longer school days.
The 8:00–3:30 option (longest day, most instructional time) was the clear winner — 60 parents ranked it first. The 8:00–3:15 was the most consistent second choice, with 65 parents ranking it #2 and virtually no one ranking it last. The 8:15–3:15 was polarizing — spread nearly evenly across all four ranks. And the two shorter-day options — 8:15–3:15 and 8:00–3:00 (both 7 hours vs. 7.5 for 8:00–3:30) — were the least preferred overall, with 8:00–3:00 finishing dead last: 48% of parents ranked it their worst option.
Early Release Fridays
Parents were asked whether they prefer the current structure (no weekly early release, more full PL days) or weekly early release Fridays.
Which structure do you prefer?
How would weekly early release Fridays impact you?
If early release happens, what time works best?
What Drives Parent Preferences
Factor most influencing bell schedule preference
Top priority — by early release preference
The two groups have strikingly different priorities. "Keep current" parents are driven by work schedules. "Early release" parents prioritize student wellness by a 6-to-1 margin.
How do full PL days (no school) impact your family?
Aftercare Impact
Current aftercare usage
Aftercare usage is broadly distributed. 44% of families use it 2+ days per week.
If dismissal time changes, how would it affect aftercare needs?
The aftercare math: 55% of parents say earlier dismissal would increase their aftercare needs. Among heavy aftercare users (Always + Often), that number is even higher. Moving dismissal earlier shifts costs directly to families.
Aftercare usage by early release preference
Parents who prefer early release are significantly less dependent on aftercare, which makes the schedule change less disruptive for them personally.
What the Redactions Hid
The CORA response contained 307 redacted cells across 126 rows. By matching against the original survey file, we can see exactly what was suppressed and what was left visible.
Across every question, the visible data skews toward status-quo or change-resistant viewpoints, while the suppressed data contains pro-change or positive perspectives. The school cited "Small Cell Suppression n<16" for every redaction — but the original data shows that several suppressed categories had well over 16 respondents (e.g., 40 early release supporters, 34 who preferred 1:30 PM, 35 who viewed early release positively).
Related FASDads findings summary and blog post: 👉[Parent survey summary]