Michael Lyle/Special to The Sunday
McWilliams Elementary School officials say they have seen a decrease in tardiness since implementing a walking school bus program.
Sunday, Oct. 22, 2017 | 2 a.m.
Children and school administrators are excited by the walking school bus program.
Kids chronically absent in preschool, kindergarten and first grade are much less likely to read at grade level by the time they’re third-graders. Those who can’t read by then are four times more likely than proficient readers to eventually drop out of high school. — U.S. Department of Education
Poor attendance patterns disproportionately affect low-income children. Research shows they are four times more likely to be chronically absent, while at the same time demonstrating greater need for more time for skill mastery and fewer resources outside school to help them. — Attendance Works
Students frequently late to school can miss out on important academic and social activities, which might affect their overall well-being and lead to loss of focus in class. And chronic lateness also can disrupt the class for others. — Teacher Magazine
Everyone knows the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.”
Some elementary schools in the valley have taken this approach when it comes to getting students to class on time, or at all, by creating what’s known as a walking school bus.
“I think this helps build the community and gets kids excited to walk to school,” said Shannon Bruno, a counselor at McWilliams Elementary School in central Las Vegas.
The concept isn’t new. Many parents already walk their children to school, but this program organizes them to push the benefit beyond their families. And it’s something the school district is promoting.
“We put on a parent meeting to talk to them about the routes,” said Traci Traasdahl, coordinator with Clark County School District’s Community Partnership Program. Once parents hoping to volunteer pass a background check (paid for by CCSD), they are cleared for training. “We educate parents about street safety and talking to kids about ‘stop, look and listen.’ Then we provide vests for them.”
Implementing walking buses at some local schools is part of a strategy to decrease chronic tardies and absences, which can hinder classroom operation and academic performance.
Bruno said some students at McWilliams have parents who can’t walk them to campus because of work schedules or other obstacles. In many of these cases, students were frequently late to class. “Some were tardy because they had a hard time getting up (in the morning),” she said. “We had some cases where they were walking by themselves and were just late.”
To combat high incidence at certain schools, administrators and community groups like ReInvent Schools Las Vegas (a partnership between CCSD and the city) started looking at ways to address the issue head on. Traasdahl said the district has been talking with schools about the walking bus concept for the past three years. She added that six schools have reached out with interest in implementing it.
Bruno facilitates the walking bus at her school, which launched soon after CCSD’s initial messaging about the program — and coincided with a decrease in tardiness at McWilliams. Each year, she puts out the call to parents and then organizes the schedule.
In prior years, students were required to meet at a designated location between 8:25 and 8:30 a.m. to give them 10 to 15 minutes to walk to school. This year, since classes start a little earlier, Bruno said they moved up the meeting time so students arrive by 8:35 a.m. (they technically have until 8:55 a.m., when the final bell rings.)
The bus started with two groups in the first year, Bruno said, then grew to four before dropping back to three for this year. Over the years, some groups have been as large as 50 students, while others have had around 15.
Bruno works with one parent who loved the walking school bus so much that she returned to volunteer at McWilliams this year even though her children have moved on to middle school.
While it helps decrease the number of late students, Traasdahl said, it also increases safety measures for those who have to use crosswalks.
Plus, it’s fun. Throughout the year, the walking bus groups recognize special occasions such as International Walk to School Day or Nevada Moves Day, motivating more students to participate.
“We usually hand out stickers and pencils (for such special observances), so on those days we saw the walking school buses grow,” Bruno added. “It gets the kids really excited.”
Traasdahl said she foresees more schools adopting this approach, perhaps with some modifications.
“We hope to someday have a bicycling group,” she said. “Baby steps.”
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