Anyone use a Walking School Bus?

[Geofizz]

Do you take turns with neighbors walking kids to school? I'm interested in hearing your experiences.

I'm contemplating starting a walking school bus on our street.

School is 1/3 mile from here, and between our block an the next one down, we've got 33 kids. I'm guessing 20 are K-5 and all could be walking to our school. I've floated the idea to several parents who were really enthusiastic. The plan is that kids walk every day, and parents trade off, walking once a week.

While last year there were a lot fewer K-5 kids (several have moved here, and we can populate our own kindergarten on our block), only one other family was walking on a daily basis. The rest were driven daily. Those parents mostly volunteered that their driving was laziness (their words!), running late, cold, or in one case-- mom had a broken leg. Our street has no sidewalks yet, but the main street has sidewalks separated from the road. This involves crossing one slightly dicey street and requires an adult.

If you've done this, I'm wondering:
*how do you keep it going?
*how do you keep it going through winter?
*how do you deal with kids that are late out the door?
*how do you communicate absences?
*what happens when the adult "drivers" are on the block closer to school? (as in, to get the kids furthest away would require starting by going the wrong way a block and a half.)

[mija]

I haven't done it, but it seems like a fabulous idea! For absences I think a note on the door would suffice, or an email to a group list/yahoo group. For late out the door, I think you would just have to be like a regular bus and keep going. Adult drivers walking an extra few blocks to the beginning of the route seems pretty reasonable. It's easier to get outside and walk when people are counting on you.

[eepster]

I haven't done this, but it sounds great. If I was doing this, I would:

• Set up a "bus stop" where everyone met. If a child wasn't at the stop on time, s/he missed the bus.
• Get an orange safety vest for the parent who was walking.
• Since you're talking about pretty young kids (kindergarten) have them all hang onto loops of a ribbon/rope. Around here, you see daycares that use this system a lot.
• If 2 parents were in charge each day instead of just 1, one could lead in the front while the other watched for stragglers in the back, and you would add a whole social element that would keep parents motivated.

Of course since I've never done this kind of thing, not sure how any of these ideas would pan out IRL.

ETA: went lookimg for a picture of the daycare rope/ribbon thing, and they actually sell the thing. Though, I would just make my own.

[Geofizz]

Ohh, thanks for the suggestions! I like the idea of a bus stop. It could just be at the corner between the two streets, and then a parent escorts them across the two streets.

I've found other recommendations for a ratio of 1:8 in walking kids to school, so we'll do two parents if we get nearly 100% participation (which I doubt).

Three more school-aged kids moved in across the street yesterday!! That makes an average of 1 kid per house on our two blocks -- it's like we're back in the 50's!

Ideas on keeping people going through the year?

[Geofizz]

<Sigh>

I sent out an email to the 12 houses that have kids at the elementary school.

One is transferring to private. One is being red-shirted and spending an extra year in preschool. One is going to work early with mom (who teaches there and gets there 20 minutes earlier).

One is in afternoon kindy, and will walk home with us.

No other responses.

[The Hidden Life]

When does your school start? Don't get too discouraged. Keep trying! Maybe once people see you walking past their house a few times they'll get the idea.

You could wear a safety vest or carry a "Walking School Bus: Please STOP" stop sign for when you all cross the street.

[fruitfulmomma]

What a neat idea! We are homeschoolers so I have no need for it, but when I was in school I always preferred to walk if I was allowed.

[kmeyrick]

Plenty of schools in my area don't have a bus system, and all are walkers. We require that a parent or approved relative pick up the children, or someone the teacher fully knows. (Safety reasons). During bad weather, the classes are smaller, I can tell you that.

This is a great idea. I would keep an attendance book, which you can buy at Staples. Mark absences and the date- it's a great way to keep safe. Carry a cell phone and address book with everybody's contact information. I might have more than one adult go with you, as well. 1 in the front of the line, 1 at the back.