As you may have seen, we recently published the winners and standouts of our 2014 Photo Contest. We had some very impressive and unique entries, including one we awarded with an honorable mention, from Laurie Smith, the Students Against Drunk Driving/Project Prom co-advisor for Richfield Springs (N.Y.) Central School.

The photo, shown here, captures students on their way to their junior prom, courtesy of a “yellow limo” from the school. Once the school started holding its prom at an off-campus location, students were required to ride school buses as a safety precaution.

The photo spurred a discussion among us here at SBF about the value for students of extracurricular school transportation for activities ranging from academic and athletic competitions to field trips to school dances and other social events. In fact, we are planning a story on the topic in an upcoming issue.

As for me, I was lucky enough in my high school years to have access to a school bus that ran late hours to accommodate after-school and weekend rehearsals and sometimes even competitions and performances so I could be involved in theater and music programs. Participating in those extracurricular activities taught me as much about work ethic, teamwork, responsibility and constantly trying to improve, as any of my classes. For many students who can’t even get to school for classes without the benefit of a school bus service, extracurricular transportation is particularly critical to their ability to get a better-rounded education by giving them access to these events.

We are curious to know not only about what types of trips your school districts are providing in addition to running routes to and from classes, but also about any budgetary issues that may have arisen as school funds have declined, and how your district has coped with them so that the kids still get to participate in the annual trip to the state capitol, or weekly play rehearsals, sports team practice, weekend football games, marching band and speech team tournaments, etc.

Do you have any interesting instances or anecdotes of extracurricular transportation to share for our story? If so, please share in the comments below.