>I think that if people had understood what the algorithm was optimizing for—sleep health of high school kids, getting elementary school kids home before dark,

>I think that if people had understood what the algorithm was optimizing for—sleep health of high school kids, getting elementary school kids home before dark, supporting kids with special needs, lowering costs, and increasing equity overall—they would agree that the new schedule was, on the whole, better than the previous one. I gather that the new schedule was not presented with a score card, comparing it with the old schedule, or that the score card was maybe buried in a report. Numbers like: - expected decrease in number of elementary students getting home after dark - expected decrease in number of early pickup of high school students - expected decrease in cost - expected capacity for special needs, compared to old system - numbers directly supporting the claim of increased equity can be understood by everybody, and would go a long way.