MNPS officials outline community‑driven school start‑times study, report 10,000+ survey responses

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools staff provided an update Tuesday on a districtwide school start-times and transportation study being conducted in partnership with the mayor's office, Metro government and a consultant named Formative.

"No decisions have been made yet. This is just the starting of the process," Chief Sean (district lead for the study) said, describing the work as community-driven. He reported the project is in phase 1 (awareness and discovery) and the team has received more than 10,000 survey responses so far.

Staff described the engagement plan: initial surveys, focused small-group discussions, virtual town halls and in-person scenario sessions later in the process. Two virtual town halls were scheduled in the near term — Wednesday, Nov. 12 at noon and Tuesday, Nov. 18 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. — and the district plans to send links via Remind, social media and its website.

District staff said the study team will analyze transportation data and community feedback, then develop schedule scenarios that will be returned to the public for further comment before any proposal comes to the board. "They're gonna take the information and the feedback they get and try to come up with something that is feasible within the context of Metro Nashville Public Schools and Davidson County," Chief Sean said.

Board members asked how frequently the public can expect updates; staff said they will provide semi-regular online updates for the next few weeks while they gather input, then more frequent scenario-based engagement when proposals are ready. The district emphasized the study is intended to be transparent and iterative.

Next steps: staff will continue community engagement, develop schedule scenarios based on transportation analysis and stakeholder feedback, and return proposed options to the community and board for further discussion and possible future action.