SLPS reports rising membership and smoother bus service after FOCUS and Zoom rollouts

Saint Louis Public Schools told the school board Wednesday that enrollment and transportation operations have stabilized in the first weeks of the 2025'26 school year after the district launched a new student information system (FOCUS) and a new transportation platform operated by Zoom. Officials said membership rose from 15,269 after the first week to about 17,070 as of the night of the board meeting, and that bus service covered 220 routes on day one with no driver shortages.

Why it matters: Reliable transportation and accurate enrollment counts are foundational for in-school services, funding and family communications. SLPS leaders said the combined rollout of FOCUS and Zoom improves family access to data (attendance, progress reports, permission forms) and gives transportation real-time visibility that helps reduce delays and customer-service issues.

What officials said: The district's pupil-accounting and transportation staff explained key terms and shared early numbers. Enrollment is official only after a student physically attends at least one school day (the DESE "membership" rule). SLPS staff said projected enrollment (the baseline used at the start of school) was 18,861 but attendance during the first days ranged from about 74% to 79% of that projection. Membership counts the day after week one were 15,269 (Aug. 22), 16,591 (Aug. 29), and the internal run for the day before the board meeting was about 17,070; the district noted its count-day (late September) enrollment last year was 17,989.

FOCUS and family access: SLPS staff described FOCUS as a one-stop online hub for registration, annual forms (code of conduct, technology permission, media releases), gradebooks and attendance. Staff urged families to complete registration in FOCUS; registration signals intent to enroll but membership requires actual attendance. The district added school-based support (iPads and staff) to help families set up accounts and said registration forms now trigger district follow-ups for students in unstable housing.

Transportation rollout and metrics: Transportation staff reported that SLPS executed a contract with Zoom on March 21 and began the combined rollout this summer. In the first weeks, staff said, the district covered all 220 routes on day one with zero driver shortages, then focused on improving on-time performance and reducing travel time by consolidating and optimizing routes. Week 3 on-time performance for the AM was about 83.2% and the PM about 91.7% (on-time defined as arrival within a five-minute window after the bell).

Ridership and app use: The district reported about 7,000 bus riders so far in the school year (districtwide ridership was 9,035 at a comparable point last year); staff said ridership has increased by over 2,000 students in the weeks immediately after the start of school and expected further growth. Zoom parent-app metrics showed roughly 11,955 ratings with 10,760 five-star responses, yielding an average rating near 4.8 out of 5. Transportation leaders said the ratings and direct app visibility improved communication with families and helped call-center responses.

Operational refinements and safety: Transportation leaders said they are consolidating some routes to reduce travel time (examples given: some routes trimmed from 113 minutes to about 76'78 minutes after optimization). The district plans bus-evacuation drills by mid-October and monthly data reviews with Zoom and driver/router feedback to refine routing and stops. The district also said it will continue to accept bus-stop-change requests but must balance stop count and tiering against on-time performance and student safety.

Board questions and follow-up: Board members asked about the proportion of students using buses (about 41% at present), how ridership compares with last year, average ride times, and whether attendance includes preschool. Staff committed to provide additional analytics (neighborhood origins, data-cleanup results, and FOCUS utilization rates) and to report on complaint/feedback counts and resolution metrics going forward.

Ending: SLPS said the combined technology rollout requires continued adjustment but that early indicators show improved communication, fewer driver shortages and upward movement in membership and ridership. Transportation and pupil-accounting staff scheduled follow-up reporting to the board after the next DESE count day and ongoing route optimizations.