For many Cambridge Public Schools students, including ours, Cambridge’s system of school choice requires safe and reliable school bus transportation. Unfortunately, for years, we and other families have repeatedly encountered school buses that were late, failed to arrive were un-trackable or don’t follow established routes. This has caused significant loss of learning time, stress and classroom disruptions for too many students.
In this past school year, we shared our stories with administrators and School Committee members. While grateful for attention paid to the issue (“School district bus tracking is improving despite frustration with vendors,” April 18) we remain concerned by a lack of clear, specific plan to improve and monitor the city’s $80 million school transportation program. The coming school year will once again include significant changes to bus routes due to school closings and openings (Kennedy-Longfellow, the Tobin Montessori and Darby Vassall) and to changing traffic patterns such as detours on Mount Auburn Street.
To ensure no students are left behind this September, we urge the district to publicly address questions that we are left with after voicing concerns:
- How will bus performance indicators be used to monitor the system and track improvements?
- What can families expect in terms of communication and customer service?
- How will substitute drivers be trained and supervised?
We believe the district leadership and transportation team shares our goal to ensure every student gets to school safely and ready to learn. After years of issues, though, leaders owe students, families and taxpayers more answers.
Amber Bifolk-Fisher, Graham & Parks, Rindge Avenue Upper School; Jill Linnell, Cambridgeport; Jodi Ekelchik, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Putnam Avenue Upper School; Eugenia Schraa Huh, Baldwin; Andrew Low, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Putnam Avenue Upper School; Sarah Figge Hussain, Cambridge Street Upper School, Fletcher Maynard Academy, Cambridgeport
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I don’t know if this is a bad idea but maybe we should reconsider busing and controlled choice altogether? The improvements it was supposed to make are not happening and in some ways the problems it is meant to fix are not fixed. It’s been more than 30 years of busing and maybe good to evaluate if it’s serving its purpose and might be phased out slowly?
Sarah,
Good comment. When I went to grade school, we went to the school nearest our apartment.
If Cambridge has a problem with “unequal” schools, fix the underperforming schools, something Cambridge has not been willing to do despite the fact that the city has spent billions of dollars, yes billions, during the past 20 years. This coming year the school budget is 280 million, and half the kids cannot read, write, or do math at grade level.
Fix the schools that are underperforming and let the grade school students go to the school nearest their home.