Peninsula School District has doubled the number of days it offers after-school-hours bus service so more students can participate in sports and other activities, district officials announced on Sept. 4.
The district will now operate activity buses Monday through Thursday at all middle and high schools. After-school-hours buses formerly ran only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“We heard feedback from students and families that doubling the days of activity buses would allow their students to participate in activities, particularly at the middle school level,” said Michael Farmer, chief of schools. “Students were typically picked up by parents on Mondays and Wednesdays, or some activities were not scheduled on those days. Going forward, those activities can be any day of the week, Monday through Thursday.”
Farmer said the district’s Educational Programs and Operations Levy, approved by voters in February, allowed the district to expand activity bus service for secondary students, “increasing their opportunities to stay after school for athletics, activities and academic support.”
Schedule issues
“Monday through Thursday are the days with the most after-school activities across our schools, with Fridays often being a later game or meet,” said Wendy Malich, athletic and activities director. “Four days of activity bus service will increase opportunities for families and students to participate in our after-school programs. Unfortunately, the burden of trying to pick up the students at 4:30 was placed solely on the families, so if transportation could not come from the family, many students could not participate. Our hope is that by having this resource more of our students will have the ability to join our programs.”…