Transportation

• Have your children put everything they carry in a backpack or school bag so they won't drop things along the way. 
• Encourage your children to wear bright, contrasting colors so drivers can easily see them.
• Make sure your children leave home on time so they arrive at the bus stop before the bus is due, at least five minutes early. Running after or in front of a bus is dangerous.

• Walk young children to the bus stop or encourage children to walk in groups, because there is safety in numbers. Groups are easier for drivers to see.
• Practice good pedestrian behavior. Walk on the sidewalk, and if there is no sidewalk, stay out of the street. If you must walk in the street, walk in a single file line, face the traffic and stay as close to the side of the road as possible.
• Stop and look left, right, and left again if you must cross the street. Do the same thing at driveways and alleys. Exaggerate your head turns and narrate your actions so your children know you are looking left, right, left.

• Have children wait in a location where the driver can see them while driving down the street. Try to avoid waiting in a house or car.
• Do not let children play in the street. Playing with balls or other toys that could roll into the street is dangerous.

• Warn children that if they drop something getting on and off the bus they should never pick it up. Instead, the children should tell the driver and follow the driver's instructions.
• Remind children to look to the right before they step off the bus. 
• If you meet your child at the bus stop after school, wait on the side where the child will be dropped off, not across the street. Children can get so excited to see you after school that they might dash across the street and forget safety rules.

Cell phones and other electronic devices are often permitted on the school bus as long as: 

• They are in backpacks or other holders, keeping hands free to use handrails while boarding and departing the bus.
• Sound is muted or the children use headphones or earbuds.
• Content does not violate the law or school district policies and procedures.
• Use does not create a distraction for the driver.

If the student is not present at the bus stop on time, the driver is directed to proceed on with the route to ensure arrival to school on time.  Please note that “waiting in the car...walking out the door or walking to the stop” are not considered being “at the bus stop”. 

Why is this important? 
Students walking up to the bus or running in an attempt to catch up with the bus is a high level safety concern.  First, the school bus lighting sequence initiated at 500 feet, alerts nearby vehicles that students are in the area and the school bus will be stopping to pick up or drop off students at a designated bus stop.  Secondly, students are far less visible to the bus driver when they are not physically at the bus stop, especially if they are attempting to run alongside the school bus.  The safest location for bus riders is to be standing at the bus stop in clear view to the driver as the bus approaches. 

As it relates to after school drop offs, if an authorized individual is not at the bus stop on time, our drivers are directed to return the student to school after completing the route.  Furthermore, the bus driver is not to release the student at an alternate bus stop or unauthorized individual without prior authorization through the school. 
Note: A kindergartener may get off the bus with a fourth grade sibling or older who is authorized on the school permission form as well.

Why is this important? 
Bottom line…..we simply need to know who is a “safe individual” to get your preschooler or kindergartener off the bus.  All such approvals MUST go through the school because the school knows you and your family best!

Students who live one mile or more from school are eligible for the school bus.  Transporting eligible students to any location other than their place of residence is not allowed (home-to school school-to-home). 

Why is this important?  
While we would love to provide transportation to every student, the reality is that resources are limited to a certain number of school buses and a certain number of drivers that are available.  Also, allowing students to ride alternate buses drastically impedes our ability to swiftly and reliably contact parents in the event of an emergency.