Transportation
Ensuring our students get to and from school safely is high priority in our Return to Learn planning. Here you will find a description of the various steps we are taking to promote safety for all of our students.
In an attempt to reduce exposure to COVID-19, we encourage all families to consider alternate transportation other than school bussing if at all possible.
Here Comes the Bus!
Here Comes the Bus® allows you to view the real-time location of your child’s school bus on your smartphone, tablet or computer. With it, you will have the information you need to send your children to the bus stop at just the right time, helping to protect them from inclement weather or other issues, and know when their bus is heading back at the end of the school day.
Walk Zones
As part of our attempt to reduce the number of students on our buses, we will be implementing the state walk zone requirements of providing transportation to students in grades K-8 who live more than 2 miles from their attendance center, and providing transportation to students in grades 9-12 who live more than 3 miles from their attendance center (Board Policy 711.1).
We understand that this creates a hardship for some families and will be reevaluating this measure quarterly to determine if adjustments can be made to safely transport more of our students.
Specialized Transportation
Students who receive transportation services as part of their IEP were asked to consider voluntarily forgoing the use of district transportation to assist with district health and safety measures. If you are interested in this, please contact Jessica Ferguson, Director of Special Education at fergusonj@newtoncsd.org for more information.
Health and Safety
Strategies to keep our students safe are summarized below. For a comprehensive list of health and safety measures regarding transportation, go to our NCSD COVID-19 Health and Safety Plan and click on "Transportation."
Busses will be filled to half capacity or less, when possible
Hand sanitizer will be available for students as they board the bus
Fill the bus from back to front
Don’t allow anyone to sit in the seat directly behind the driver
Sit in assigned seat every time you ride
One child per seat, when possible
Students from the same household may sit together in a seat
No food or drink consumed on the bus
Exit bus from front to back
Buildings will designate ways to socially distance as students enter the building