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WHile researching for homes, in the NWISD, I ran the address to check the bus routes. For Middle school its a 45 min bus ride each way! Is this common? Also with the school times off set, my youngest will be home an hour and a half before her brother. What do parents do in this situation? Drive the kids?
some people find day care provider or hire neighbor to pick them up and provide supervision until parents pick up on way home from work
in HEB the district has become a child=care provider and parents can pay for their children to stay at school and be supervised (often by teachers)
of course it is not free but it is reasonable I think
some people let their middle schoolers just stay home w/o supervision but that is asking for trouble to me
keller is the same way.
MANY parents drive there kids, and that creates a traffic nightmare. Even parents that have bussing provided choose to drive thier kids, so that doubles the traffic problem. There are only a few busses at each school because Texas has a 2.0 rule, if you live with in 2 miles of a school you don't get bussing. Doesn't matter if those kids are expected to cross a busy road or not. (this is my personal pet peave!!)
For example (my situaton)
Intermediate school 5-6th grade. school starts at 7:35am she gets on the bus at 6:50am arrives at school around 7:15am waits in the cafateria until first bell.
Dismissel is at 2:45pm she arrives home at 3:40pm. (yes almost an hour! for a school that is 2.8miles away!)
she has it the worst...long day.
Elem daughter... school starts at 8am, bus picks up at 7:20am she get to school at 7:30am and waits in hte cafeteria until 7:50. Dismissel is at 3:00pm she get home at 3:15pm. just about 30minutes BEFORE the other one who got out of school 15minutes earlier!
MS daughter has it the best...she gets on hte bus at 7:50am get to school at about 8:05am, first bell is at 8:20am socializes in cafe until then. Dismissel is at 3:20pm and she gets home at 3:45pm. (just 5minutes behind #2!)
I usually drive her in 2-3 mornings because she goes in 8am for math tutoring.
BUT...the delimia is...IF i go to Pick them up, the traffic is so bad that I am late for them. SERIOUSLY, parents start lining up in cars at around 2:20 for the 2:45 P/U time. It usually takes about 15minutes for you kid to get out ofthe buliding and wealk down (or wait) for the line of cars to pass before they get in your car then you have to jockyt out of the parking lot etc... so I run late to the next school that dismisses at 3pm (but the elementary runs much better than the other schools) so it usually takes about 10minutes. The MS is a free for all...kids everywhere etc... a mess.
So if I pick up all my kids... I have to start out at 2:30 and i get home at 3:40ish so instead of my kid sitting on a bus they are sitting in traffic with me. NOT worth it.
keller is the same way.
MANY parents drive there kids, and that creates a traffic nightmare. Even parents that have bussing provided choose to drive thier kids, so that doubles the traffic problem. There are only a few busses at each school because Texas has a 2.0 rule, if you live with in 2 miles of a school you don't get bussing. Doesn't matter if those kids are expected to cross a busy road or not. (this is my personal pet peave!!)
For example (my situaton)
Intermediate school 5-6th grade. school starts at 7:35am she gets on the bus at 6:50am arrives at school around 7:15am waits in the cafateria until first bell.
Dismissel is at 2:45pm she arrives home at 3:40pm. (yes almost an hour! for a school that is 2.8miles away!)
she has it the worst...long day.
Elem daughter... school starts at 8am, bus picks up at 7:20am she get to school at 7:30am and waits in hte cafeteria until 7:50. Dismissel is at 3:00pm she get home at 3:15pm. just about 30minutes BEFORE the other one who got out of school 15minutes earlier!
MS daughter has it the best...she gets on hte bus at 7:50am get to school at about 8:05am, first bell is at 8:20am socializes in cafe until then. Dismissel is at 3:20pm and she gets home at 3:45pm. (just 5minutes behind #2!)
I usually drive her in 2-3 mornings because she goes in 8am for math tutoring.
BUT...the delimia is...IF i go to Pick them up, the traffic is so bad that I am late for them. SERIOUSLY, parents start lining up in cars at around 2:20 for the 2:45 P/U time. It usually takes about 15minutes for you kid to get out ofthe buliding and wealk down (or wait) for the line of cars to pass before they get in your car then you have to jockyt out of the parking lot etc... so I run late to the next school that dismisses at 3pm (but the elementary runs much better than the other schools) so it usually takes about 10minutes. The MS is a free for all...kids everywhere etc... a mess.
So if I pick up all my kids... I have to start out at 2:30 and i get home at 3:40ish so instead of my kid sitting on a bus they are sitting in traffic with me. NOT worth it.
As a parent who has not only always transported my kids but also handled school picks ups for a child care center dealing with 3 different school districts and several private schools over the years....here's some advice to make if far less stressful:
Pick up the youngest child first, no matter the dismissal times. Also, park (where it's easy to exit) and get out to get your child instead of waiting in line. This will cut anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes off your wait time.
Here's why you go there first....the youngest kids are almost always out of their schools within 5 minutes of dismissal since they have far less to do to get ready to leave and they don't have to stop at lockers in the hall. They also don't usually stop to visit with teachers/friends on their way out. Add to that, their teachers are usually required to walk them out and stay with them until they are picked up because they are not ready to be left alone outside the school, so those kids need to be picked up quickly.
Then, you can either go to the closest school or the school with the earlier timed dismissal, whichever one is more convienent traffic wise. (I use the right turn deal as to which is easier...the more right turns to get there the easier it is) That older child is not only better equipped to wait on you if needed, but also will usually appreciate not feeling rushed to get out of the school. These older kids typically have either a larger building with more kids in it to navigate, or they have friends they stop and chat with that detains them from coming straight out of school. So, if you don't expect them immediately it eliminates stress for you both!
In taking them...reverse it...take the oldest first. They can occupy themselves much easier without getting into trouble than the youngest ones can.
Oh and I'd rather them be in the car with me for an hour than on a bus for an hour. I can use that time to have some great conversations, especially about their day. I can use that time to give them snack before we get home and get that out of the way, and they can use it reading if they need to for homework purposes.
Pick up the youngest child first, no matter the dismissal times.
well leaving early EVERY day may have problems with the school. If I was to pick her up early to get to the older kid (whose school get out first) then I would have to pick her up about 30 minutes early every day.
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In taking them...reverse it...take the oldest first. They can occupy themselves much easier without getting into trouble than the youngest ones can.
AGain this doesn't work...my eldest starts at 8:20, (door open at 8am) Drop her off first?? SO, I leave my eldest outside at 7:30am by herself with no way of getting into a bldg? NO WAY. the middle starts at 7:35, The youngest (who you say drop off last starts at 8am) she will be at school at 7:40 same time as the bus drops her off.
so, I leave my eldest at home to catch the bus and drive the other 2...then I don't even get to see her in the morning etc... she will be gone by the time I get back. NOPE that doesn't work for me either.
If I drive them all in the morning then they ALL have to get up and out the door by 7am. Because same as pick-up drop you can wait up to 20minutes in line to drop your kid off.
It's hard enough to get 3 kids up and ready in the morning, to have wake up 30-45 minutes earlier than usual would be extremely stressful and unfair, just lug them around in my car.
You have a problem with bussing I don't.
I have a problem with not enough busses. The kids shouldn't have to ride a bus for 45-60minutes for a school that is 2.8 miles way. That trip should take 15minutes tops. Big they cram the kids on and go all over the distric to save on money. Adding 2 more busses to the scedule at the intermediate school would solve this problem. The elemetary school, at the school 20-30 minutes early, so it can pick up the middle school kids. Again adding a few more busses would solve that problem.
This is the 3rd state we have lived in and by the worst when it comes to arrival and dismissal at schools.
I can't even arrive at school 15 minutes early to pick up my daughter for a doctor appt. The road and parking are blocked by the line of cars, so I have park in hte neighobrhood behind and walk up etc... Learned that lesson, pick up 30minutes early...and then they miss lessons.
well leaving early EVERY day may have problems with the school. If I was to pick her up early to get to the older kid (whose school get out first) then I would have to pick her up about 30 minutes early every day.
AGain this doesn't work...my eldest starts at 8:20, (door open at 8am) Drop her off first?? SO, I leave my eldest outside at 7:30am by herself with no way of getting into a bldg? NO WAY. the middle starts at 7:35, The youngest (who you say drop off last starts at 8am) she will be at school at 7:40 same time as the bus drops her off.
so, I leave my eldest at home to catch the bus and drive the other 2...then I don't even get to see her in the morning etc... she will be gone by the time I get back. NOPE that doesn't work for me either.
If I drive them all in the morning then they ALL have to get up and out the door by 7am. Because same as pick-up drop you can wait up to 20minutes in line to drop your kid off.
It's hard enough to get 3 kids up and ready in the morning, to have wake up 30-45 minutes earlier than usual would be extremely stressful and unfair, just lug them around in my car.
You have a problem with bussing I don't.
I have a problem with not enough busses. The kids shouldn't have to ride a bus for 45-60minutes for a school that is 2.8 miles way. That trip should take 15minutes tops. Big they cram the kids on and go all over the distric to save on money. Adding 2 more busses to the scedule at the intermediate school would solve this problem. The elemetary school, at the school 20-30 minutes early, so it can pick up the middle school kids. Again adding a few more busses would solve that problem.
This is the 3rd state we have lived in and by the worst when it comes to arrival and dismissal at schools.
I can't even arrive at school 15 minutes early to pick up my daughter for a doctor appt. The road and parking are blocked by the line of cars, so I have park in hte neighobrhood behind and walk up etc... Learned that lesson, pick up 30minutes early...and then they miss lessons.
I never said to pick up any one early, you misunderstood that part....I merely said to make the youngest your first stop and let the older ones be the ones waiting on you irregardless if an older one actually gets out eariler than the youngest one. Instead of wasting time in a line waiting...get out and get her when she comes out the door. That's not picking her up early. It's a matter of better time management.
Since you were complaining about the amount of time they were spending on the bus, I interpreted that as you do have a problem with them taking the bus and were looking for a way to make it work smoother for all concerned.
I know all about getting 3 up and ready in the morning, so believe me I do understand and did everything I could to make it smoother all around for my family! I think it would have actually been a bit easier if my kids all had different starting times as you do. I had to get 3 kids to 3 different schools that all started at the exact same time...8 AM. I had one in college(who didn't have a license nor a car to drive even if she had a license), one in high school and one in elementary and a new baby at home.
There is no bus for college and the one for high school would have required my second daughter to walk 3 blocks and be there at 6:45 AM, then be on the bus for an hour. Why would I choose that option when I can spend more time with her myself in the car (at a much later time too, since much like you we like our sleep). I took the time to try different things until I found what worked the best and that's really what my post was about....trying to help you try something different to make it easier.
If you will actually step out of your box and quit negatively reacting to my post......then look at it with a more open mind, you will find there are completely different patterns of traffic at different times both in the morning and afternoon and you may well find one that works better for your family. So you might find switching the times in the morning from my suggestion (not knowing how far what schools are from you) and work it a better way for you.
gas prices are going to have people looking for car pooling opportunities--I used to do this when I had kids in pre-school and grades below high school
does no one carpool their kids any more
and frankly there is nothing easy about having three children in 3 different schools--you are not the only person to have this problem
I am not being negative... and I do think outside the box. But this isn't here or there.
The ISD's have created this probelm to cut cost plain and simple.
Just because something has always been this way doesn't mean it has to stay this way. The schools are HUGE and without propper ammount of busses masses of kids are driven to school, hte parking lots are small and everyone seems to be in a hurry and makes it more of a mess.
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does no one carpool their kids any more
I see some but not alot (but I don't drive everyday)
The elem. school has a good system, but there just isn't enough space for all the cars waiting in line, so the streets next to the school become a parking lot. I think the schools really should encourage it more. MANY who are provided bussing don't use it, it seems "beneth" many of the kids.
Also not many walk or bike (esp given the ammount of houses close by) esp for the older grades, the schools sit on busy roads. Also there aren't sidewalks accessible the entire way and traffic is bad. (I know I wouldn't let my 11 year old go down Rufe snow ALL the way to bursey RD) so they drive them.
Our old district in VA even bussed the 1/2 AM K-garten kids home...to your DOOR! and picked up the PM kids at thier house. very nice.
So, yes it was shock to see the bad bus schedules, the mess at the school for driving etc... I guess I have been very spolied at both PA and VA for school transportation.
We were just given a survey by KISD though about the walking/biking etc... trying to cut the ammount of cars at drop off and p/u. so HOPEFULLY they will come up with a better solution.
I am very lucky and can stay home and only work a few part time hours while they are at school. I seriuosly don't know how some who have full time jobs get it all done....Hats off!
I am new to the keller ISD with a daughter in 6th grade attending chisolm trail intermediate. I have a transportation issue! Is there anyone to get in touch with for a carpool???
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