| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
news
Top Member
Canada
2951 Posts |
 Posted - 12/06/2006 : 11:16:00 AM
|
Dec 06 2006 - Comox Valley Record - British Columbia, Canada - Young parents attending school in district 71 may not bring their children on Cardinal buses.
After an almost-unanimous vote at the last school district board meeting, trustees declared the practice of bringing a pre-school-aged child on a school bus to be unsafe and against safety rules.
“A public school bus is not an appropriate environment for a pre-school child,” said trustee Ken Dawson.
The issue was raised after Cardinal Transportation received a letter from a student who is also a parent on Denman Island wishing to access the school bus with a three-month-old child to an area high school.
However, district management said the idea would not be practical.
In a separate issue of not allowing pre-school-aged children to ride the school buses to and from a day care service at area schools with older siblings, David Barnes, director of operations for the district, also recommended that the board vote no to the use of school bus transportation for the student parent’s children unless the parents absorbed all the costs.
“It’s not one bus, but multiple routes taking up two seats on each,” he said. “It is a cost.”
Barnes added that seat belts and tether bolts would be required on each of the buses to accommodate approved car seats, which would be too much for the district to absorb especially for the pre-school courtesy riders.
He suggested that as an alternative the parent student be provided a city transportation bus pass.
Trustee Susan Barr raised concerns over the fairness of not providing transportation to student parents and their children, and said a car seat apparatus should be supplied by the district.
“How does a parent continue an education with a child when denied transportation?” she asked. “I think we should do everything we can do to encourage a person with their education.”
In her argument against allowing pre-school children on buses, trustee Jean Rowe said the district is not in the business of public transportation, but added that she believed providing some sort of transportation to such a student is important.
“It is something we should look at in the future,” she said. “Maybe one bus for young children.”
Secretary-treasurer Len Ibbs said he understands pre-school-aged children can ride the city bus legally but when it comes to school buses the district is just not allowed if the child is not in an approved car seat.
In the end, the board voted to not allow pre-school-aged children on the buses but will provide a city bus pass for the student parent on Denman Island.
source
|
|
|
william
Top Member
USA
1912 Posts |
Posted - 12/07/2006 : 10:24:19 PM
|
| I think I'm with the school board on this one. |
William |
 |
|
|
JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2006 : 12:17:32 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by william
I think I'm with the school board on this one.
Considering what is happening in this industry I would have to agree with trustee Ken Dawson.
End the service, update some policies involving service practices and parent responsibilities - especially at bus stops - and try again. (jk)
FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.
There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains. |
Edited by - JK on 12/08/2006 08:49:10 AM |
|
|
|
Sandra (Ennis) Nunn
Top Member
Canada
1180 Posts |
Posted - 12/08/2006 : 09:33:03 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by JK
quote:
Originally posted by william
I think I'm with the school board on this one.
Considering what is happening in this industry I would have to agree with trustee Ken Dawson.
End the service, update some policies involving service practices and parent responsibilities - especially at bus stops - and try again. (jk)
quote:
Dec 06 2006 - Comox Valley Record - British Columbia, Canada
In the end, the board voted to not allow pre-school-aged children on the buses but will provide a city bus pass for the student parent on Denman Island.
From the story, I think that this is not a service that would be ended in district 71 but one that would not begin.
Canada does not have the same "Head Start" program (ie: the federally sponsored preschool program to meet the needs of disadvantaged children) as the US does. (sn) |
Edited by - Sandra (Ennis) Nunn on 12/08/2006 09:42:17 AM |
|
|
|
JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 12/09/2006 : 07:01:06 AM
|
quote:
Originally posted by Sandra (Ennis) Nunn
... From the story, I think that this is not a service that would be ended in district 71 but one that would not begin.
Canada does not have the same "Head Start" program (ie: the federally sponsored preschool program to meet the needs of disadvantaged children) as the US does. (sn)
Interesting.
That would place Canada more closely aligned with my personal concept than what exists in my own country.
There is no advocacy, no push, not even much thought given to restructuring public education to better fit modern times and demands, which would greatly change the landscape of public education.
Would like to see government funding of so-called Preschool/Head Start and KG ended; a properly funded eight year public school structure (1-8) with an outcome equivalent to a competent high school education; and a voucher system that allows an additional two-years free college, or tech, trade, music or art school as alternative educational opportunities.
Whoever controls public education controls America's future, in my opinion.
Who can find the outlook bright for public education in America with the corruption in public education under the control of special interests and the ACLU?
Too much of the rest of the world is racing ahead of the U.S. at light speed.
Parents back in charge of their children’s education and a public education structure that works could change all that.
What would seem an increasing trend or escalation are aware parents and aware teachers pulling their kids from public schools. There has got to be a reason for that.
Perhaps too bureaucratized, too much in the control of special interests and the ACLU. And perhaps not enough money in the entire country can fix the current public education system.
I would like to see kids allowed to be just kids a while longer; parents setup to be more involved and in control of their children's public education; and kids kept busy and better supervised during the acedemic education learning years.
And throwing more and more money at public education? (jk)
"If we keep doing what we're doing, we're going to keep getting what we're getting." --Stephen Covey
FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.
There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains.
|
Edited by - JK on 12/10/2006 4:47:52 PM |
|
|
|
JK
Top Member
USA
7307 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2006 : 4:54:34 PM
|
quote:
Originally posted by JK
... Would like to see government funding of so-called Preschool/Head Start and KG ended; a properly funded eight year public school structure (1-8) with an outcome equivalent to a competent high school education; and a voucher system that allows an additional two-years free college, or tech, trade, music or art school as alternative educational opportunities.
Somewhat surprised of no response to this concept. Is it stiil too radical a concept?
What I have proposed in the post is the opportunity for parents authority the first two or three years, parents and the school authority the next eight years, and the parents, the school and the child's authority the final two years of publicly funded education.
No response? (jk)
FREE School Bus Safety Ads & Photo Library
Post Check, Hostage Takeover, Bus Fire and special effects photos now available Free to use at websites, in newsletters, memos, the local press, letters to parents and more. This is a very popular Website. If you can't get in bookmark the page and try again later.
There is no school bus driver shortage!
Properly train, effective support and pay that retains. |
|
|
|
bus724
Top Member
USA
1609 Posts |
Posted - 12/10/2006 : 5:45:38 PM
|
JK, this is one issue on which I wholeheartedly agree with you. The town I drive in provides public pre-Kindergarten for students as young as 3 years old. I get the impression that parents in this town can't wait to let the school start babysitting for them. We have to juggle booster seats from bus to bus to accomodate (a kid can go one one bus from home to school in the morning, a different bus from school to home at mid-day, and a different bus from school to daycare 3 days a week at mid-day). Our buses all have belts in the first 2 seats.
I started kindergarten in this same town over 15 years ago. I had to wait until the year I turned 5 to start attending public school. As a result, I spent more time in the first years of my life with my parents. I think I'm a better person for having done so.
I'm just waiting for the day they send one of our buses to the hospital to pick up infants out of maternity and shuttle them to public school. After all, isn't that the next step for our cradle-to-the-grave government? |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
BC - No bus ride for pre-schoolers
