Dear Parents/Guardians,
Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a safe and healthy summer. I’m sure that this is the most unusual start of school we have ever seen. Our number one priority is keeping your children safe every moment they are in our care starting with the school bus. Our buses will have a significantly lower number of students on each route compared to a “normal” year and the buses will be disinfected after every route. Please help us keep all of our students safe by assisting us with the following guidelines.
- Every student MUST wear a face covering at the bus stop and on the bus at all
- times.
- Students will be directed to a seat by the bus aide. Students will not be allowed
- to choose their own seat.
- Students should have their symptom self-certification sheet with them when they
- board the school bus each and every day.
- While appropriate behaviors are important every year, they are even more
- important during this pandemic. Students who do not behave on the school bus
- will not be allowed to ride the bus.
The route stops may have changed from prior years. We have made every effort to ensure that no child is walking very far to their stop. However, the district does not provide door to door transportation unless it is required by special education. Please plan on having someone walk your young children to and from their stops until they become familiar with the routine. Your student’s route number, bus stop and stop time can be found in Skyward on the “Busing” tab. If you have any problems locating the information, please contact your school.
Please make sure that your student is at the assigned bus stop at least five (5) minutes prior to the assigned time. To assist us in making sure these routes go smoothly, please review the following with your student:
- Make sure your student is familiar with their route number - it is very possible that
- the route number has changed from last year.
- Make sure your student is familiar with their bus stop - especially our younger
- students - they tend to be unfamiliar with the stop and refuse to exit the bus since
- the stop is not their home. Please have a familiar face at the stop to pick them
- up in the afternoon. If your child refuses to get off the bus, they will be brought
- back to the school and you will have to pick them up at the school.
- Please understand that the bus will not go back to pick up your student if they are
- not at the bus stop on time.
- Additional information will be shared next week including how to sign up for bus
- alerts and bus expectations.
We expect that there will still be some bumps in the road as the drivers learn their routes. However, we ask that you DO NOT call Kickert Transportation directly. Please feel free to call the District’s Transportation Coordinator, Wanda Alexander (708) 647-7001 if you have any problems. She will be in contact with Kickert every day and will be able to assist you with your concerns.
Welcome back!
Frances A. LaBella
Associate Superintendent