Drive Safely with Start of New School Year August 25
August 24, 2011 – Traffic around schools will increase and students will return to bus stops when the Wake County Public School System’s traditional calendar schools begin the new school year on August 25.We ask drivers to help keep our students safe as they learn new routines with the start of a new school year.
The traditional calendar schools are returning to session providing a noticeable increase in traffic and a few changes in transportation patterns near schools.
The biggest change will be the opening of the new Walnut Creek Elementary at the intersection of Sunnybrook and Rock Quarry roads in southeast Raleigh.
Find Transportation information
Parents are encouraged to visit our Transportation website at www.wcpss.net/transportation to find answers to questions regarding services due to the high volume of calls the department receives in the first weeks of school. Should you still have questions, you can reach us at (919) 856-8050. We will have additional operators during this time to take and return calls. Should you need to leave a message, the department will return your call within 24 hours.
Bus routes are online at www.wcpss.net/school-directory/bus-routes/. You can find other information regarding transportation services on the Transportation website, such as how to request services, forms and board policies related to transportation services.
Prepare new bus riders
Kindergartners and first-graders who ride the bus will be given name tags for the first 20 days of
school. Schools will place nametags on students before boarding the afternoon bus. Tags will
include student name, school name and phone number, bus route number and bus stop location.
Parents are encouraged to teach children to know their home address, phone number and bus
route name. Help prepare children for the new experience of riding the bus to school.
The Wake County Public School System provides bus transportation to all base students in the system who live one-and-a-half miles or more from school and to students with identified special needs. The system's Transportation Department is committed to providing these students with safe, efficient and reliable transportation service that contributes to their overall academic success.
The start of the school year is a challenging time for the WCPSS Transportation Department. Transportation planners created routes for the new year by looking at the students transported the prior year and obtaining new information from WCPSS Growth Management about students enrolled for this school year. The Transportation Department creates new routes based on their expectation of student ridership.
The first week of school, parents and students are making decisions about the best use of buses to get to and from school. As families make decisions about their use of buses, the Transportation Department adapts routes to meet the riders' needs. As families finalize decisions about their use of bus service, bus routes are finalized. This process generally takes about two weeks.
By the end of August when all schools are in session, Wake County Public School System drivers will be behind the wheels of 935 buses transporting approximately 75,000 students safely each day.
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