Where Do Students Go When The Bus Doesn't Show Up?
We welcomed the start of May with a Parent Issues Assembly on School Transportation. In a local library of Kansas City, parent and community leaders gathered to discuss the ins and outs of unreliable school transportation experienced this school year.
What’s Going On?
The 2023-2024 school year should have begun strong, perhaps stronger than the year before as students were fully enrolled for a second year post-pandemic. However, a new issue arose - lack of and/or late school bus transportation. This issue caused students to either be late for or absent from school. And, worse, the students and their families were penalized for it.
The Best People To Offer Solutions Are Those Affected Most By The Problem
Upon taking up space at the assembly, we began to discuss the impact of unreliable school bus transportation through stories we’ve experienced or heard within the community. We were also inspired and grew more passionate as the main ones affected by this were also with us - our children. As we shared our experiences, our children reminded us why we were there. They and other children deserve much better than what their school system had to offer.
“There are things we don’t know. Ask those questions. See if they haven’t been answered.”
-Spark Bookhart
From the beginning, convener Spark Bookhart, set the tone by emphasizing that our discussion needs to lead to explicitly crafted questions to dive deeper into the issue in order to begin developing a solution. In other words, ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS.
Endless Questions: A Strive for Answers
What are the mental consequences of students suffering from this?
Why are students penalized for something outside of their control?
How many parents/families have lost their jobs for taking time off to transport their children to school?
Why can’t schools own their own buses?
Most importantly, how did we even get here?
Every question led to another, proving that current systems in place to serve and help our children - simply getting them to school- are clearly ineffective. Through parent-led research teams, we aim to find solutions and create a transportation system that works for everyone.
Bold Visioning
Driven by the value we have for our children and our desire to get them to school safely, we concluded by asking ourselves…
“If we are creating our own transportation system, what would it look like?”
Part of the vision:
Leveraging technology for smooth communication and tracking (Amazon)
Pay parents to train or obtain commercial driver’s licenses (CDL)
Shared responsibility and accountability.
Bus culture/experiences similar to after school - extension of lessons
People without children understand the impact and get involved.
We’re thankful to have convened with a strong group of voices, but the journey doesn't end here—it's just beginning. We invite you to join us in our research phase and be part of the solution. Together, we can build a transportation system that ensures every child gets to school safely, on time, and eager to learn.
