Back to School Just Got Easier for 4,000 Families in Fredericton and Oromocto

It’s back-to-school week in Fredericton and Oromocto, and for thousands of families, this year feels different. Morning routines are calmer. Buses are running on time. And most importantly, kids are arriving home on similar schedules, making family life far more manageable.

Last September, the start of the school year was anything but smooth. Parents were left juggling multiple school schedules, with some children heading out on the bus before 7:45 a.m. while their siblings waited nearly an hour longer. In the afternoons, younger kids were home by mid-afternoon while older ones didn’t return until after 6:00 p.m. Families lost out on precious mealtime together, parents scrambled for childcare, and bus routes struggled to keep pace with a fragmented system.

Half-days added another layer of disruption, forcing parents to leave work or find last-minute coverage. For many, it meant burning through vacation days before Thanksgiving just to keep up with the school calendar.

This year, those challenges are gone.

A Smarter Schedule

Over the past several months, Anglophone School District West worked with Porter O’Brien to look at the system from every angle. Rather than adjusting school by school, the goal was to build a coordinated framework that worked for everyone: students, families, teachers, and bus drivers alike.

The result:

• No more half-days. Families can now count on full instructional days, Monday to Friday.

• Aligned bell times. All schools start between 8:00 and 8:35 a.m. and dismiss between 2:05 and 3:35 p.m. This consistency means siblings leave and arrive home around the same time, restoring routines like shared family dinners.

• Better transportation. Bus routes were designed around the coordinated schedule, creating smoother and more predictable service.

Why It Matters

For families, these changes add up to a major quality-of-life improvement. Parents no longer need to stagger their mornings around different departure times. Children aren’t left waiting around the house for long stretches before school. And evenings once lost to scattered arrivals are now anchored by family time at the dinner table.

In short, this isn’t just about buses and bell times, it’s about giving families their time back.

Listening First

What made this change possible was a commitment to meaningful consultation. Nearly 4,000 survey responses and engagement sessions with parents, teachers, administrators, and bus drivers shaped the final plan. By taking the time to listen and understand the full picture, the district avoided patchwork fixes and delivered a system that actually works.

At Porter O’Brien, this is exactly the kind of challenge we thrive on, helping organizations untangle complex systems, balance diverse needs, and design changes that last. Because whether it’s a school district or a business, the lesson is the same: sustainable solutions come from listening, analyzing, and acting with the whole community in mind.

Back-to-school is always a big transition. This year, for families in Fredericton and Oromocto, it’s also a whole lot less stressful.

Working through coordination challenges or stakeholder alignment in your organization? We'd be glad to explore how systematic analysis might help.

For more information, contact Jacqueline Durnford at jackie@porterobrien.com.