How far do your kids walk to school?

[JVL1018]

My point was, schools should stay out of the restaurant business and worry about getting kids to school. You can provide the healthiest school lunches in the world but it doesn't mean squat if parents can't get their kids to school to eat them.

I know in my area, there is a neighborhood school for every elementary student. We are about 3 square miles and have 5 elementary schools.

The middle school and the high school are centrally located.

There are no highways in town, no roads busier than your regular 2 lane roads, and there are crossing guards available at every major intersection(and some minor ones).
In the winter it usually doesn't get insanely cold(temps in the teens and 20s are rare during the day), there are packs and packs or middle school and high school kids walking every day(safety in numbers), so I don't even thnk twice about my child walking a mile to school.

The only busing that is done in town is for the special ed students and the bilingual students.

I am sure a lot of people, especially in the northeast where towns are smaller and compact don't live far enough from school to make busing necessary, so yes there are other things we are concerned about besides getting the kids to school.

I am way more concerned about school lunches since that's what my daughter chooses to eat every day..and in our town's case, I'm concerned about the lack of air conditioning in 100 year old schools where classrooms get to 95 degrees on late June days..

 

[dfchelbay]

We are moving to a new neighborhood 2 days before school starts and just found out there's no bus service to our house. I hadn't even thought about it because in my opinion, we're "far" from school. The transportation office says if you are within 1.5 miles, no bus service is offered. Mapquest and Google Maps say we are 1.55 miles. That seems like a long way for daily to and from walks, especially in IL weather. I am scrambling at this point because we don't know anyone in the new neighborhood, and there is no way dh or I can drive the kids to school. We leave 30 minutes before they start and get home 75 minutes after they get out. WWYD? And don't tell me I'm a helicopter parent because I don't want my daughter and 60 lb. 12 year old son walking 3+ miles a day and crossing a 4 lane road (there is a 4 way stop).

If it were me, I'd find the closest bus stop to my house and have my kids get on and off the bus there. That bus stop would be a lot closer than walking all the way to school.

 

[Hannathy]

I don't know about other schools but if kids show up on bikes here they send them home to bring the bike home and walk back. They could bike and lock them up someplace off of school property but you can't bring them on school property or chain them up to school fences.

You're kidding right? Kids can't ride bikes? Wow how asinine. And your town accepts and puts up with this? You don't have bike racks?

There are at least 100+ bikes parked at my kids middle school and easily 50-75 at the elementary school.

I would have my middle school child ride their bike for that short distance.

 

[Coconut36]

I don't know about other schools but if kids show up on bikes here they send them home to bring the bike home and walk back. They could bike and lock them up someplace off of school property but you can't bring them on school property or chain them up to school fences.

Seriously? How completely bizarre. Why do they do that..what value is there in refusing to allow children to bike to school? I can't think of any schools around here that do such a thing and they all have a designated area for bikes to be locked up. During school hours it is closed and locked and unlocked at release time. At our school kids in 1st grade on up are allowed to bike to school (Kinders are the only ones not "allowed" because they either release them to an adult, aftercare or a bus...parents can (and do) however bring a bike for the child at pick up time). Scooters are the only thing discouraged at our schools due to theft issues as they don't seem to be as easily secured as bikes.

 

[JVL1018]

You're kidding right? Kids can't ride bikes? Wow how asinine. And your town accepts and puts up with this? You don't have bike racks?

There are at least 100+ bikes parked at my kids middle school and easily 50-75 at the elementary school.

I would have my middle school child ride their bike for that short distance.

Kids can't ride bikes here, either. They say that it's too dangerous with the way people drive at drop off and pick up(this was the elementary school). I think it bites.

 

[msjprincess]

I don't know about other schools but if kids show up on bikes here they send them home to bring the bike home and walk back. They could bike and lock them up someplace off of school property but you can't bring them on school property or chain them up to school fences.

Is there a reason for that? DS has been riding his bike to school since 4th grade. All of our schools have bike racks.

 

[cornflake]

I do think this is a rough position in which to find yourself. Since you're not getting anywhere with the transportation office, I'd try these things:

1. Talk to neighbors to see how they handle this problem. They've been dealing with the problem and may have some ideas on how to handle it.

2. Other people suggested dropping them off early in the mornings -- that sounds very do-able, and it would take care of 50% of your problem. No matter how early I get to my school, kids are always waiting in the lobby.

3. Hire a high school student who has no first period /fourth to drive them to school /pick them up. Plenty of high schoolers have their own cars and would jump at the chance to pick up such an easy little afternoon job.

4. If you find a neighbor who drives her kids to school every day, see if she'd like a job transporting your kids too. Again, plenty of stay-at-home moms would love to pick up a little extra cash for very little effort.

5. Walking 1.5 miles day after day is a chore, but biking seems like much less effort. Have them practice riding with their backpacks on, and be sure they know how to lock up their bikes at school.

6. See if you can pay to have your kids on the bus.

Everyone is of course free to do what they wish but just personally, the level of no to the idea that I'd let a teenager drive my kid around? I can't even begin.

Maybe it's just how you grow up, because I'm fine with a 12-year-old on the subway alone (which is often how they're getting to school here if they're not walking) but not in a car driven by a teenager!

In a general sense the idea that this is a 'problem' and that walking a mile and a half is a 'chore' I also find odd. That's nothing.

OP - when you've put the addresses into the map programs are you looking at driving directions or walking? If there are any one-way streets or anything and you're looking at driving, which is usually the default, it comes out longer than walking.

 

[aprilgail2]

Is there a reason for that? DS has been riding his bike to school since 4th grade. All of our schools have bike racks.

To many buses and cars dropping off and picking up to be having kids riding bikes, not safe.

 

[mjkacmom]

I know in my area, there is a neighborhood school for every elementary student. We are about 3 square miles and have 5 elementary schools.

The middle school and the high school are centrally located.

There are no highways in town, no roads busier than your regular 2 lane roads, and there are crossing guards available at every major intersection(and some minor ones).
In the winter it usually doesn't get insanely cold(temps in the teens and 20s are rare during the day), there are packs and packs or middle school and high school kids walking every day(safety in numbers), so I don't even thnk twice about my child walking a mile to school.

The only busing that is done in town is for the special ed students and the bilingual students.

I am sure a lot of people, especially in the northeast where towns are smaller and compact don't live far enough from school to make busing necessary, so yes there are other things we are concerned about besides getting the kids to school.

I am way more concerned about school lunches since that's what my daughter chooses to eat every day..and in our town's case, I'm concerned about the lack of air conditioning in 100 year old schools where classrooms get to 95 degrees on late June days..

Since I live in an area exactly like this, I have to agree. Kids have been walking for over 100 years here.

 

[Coconut36]

To many buses and cars dropping off and picking up to be having kids riding bikes, not safe.

That's a load of hooey...sorry but it is. Plenty of schools all over the US are busy and congested at drop off and kids ride their bikes to school. If it is an issue with driving then they need to have an officer come regularly at drop off/pick up times and cite people (that happens often here where officers will be set up in the school zones pulling people over). To refuse to allow bikes is ludicrous and if their issue is safety then what is their justification for sending kids home with the bike and then back to school? So it's unsafe to bike there but perfectly safe to then turn around, bike home and walk back?

 

[kerstfan1]

when i was 12 and going to highschool (different system here then in the us) i had to bike ride to another town it was about 6 miles and it was true busy streets there are no schoolbuses here so

 

[disykat]

It totally depends on where you life as to whether walking is reasonable or not. I grew up walking and it was no big deal. However, that doesn't mean it's not a big deal for some.

It would be a huge deal where I live now. In fact, a group of kids from our bus stop once missed the bus and walked and got in trouble. There are no sidewalks, 50 mph road with no good place to cross at the turnoff to the school.

I would have LOVED for my kids to be able to walk. We lived less than a 1/2 mile from school and they were picked up and driven all over kingdom come in a school bus for a 1/2 an hour before school. Silliness - but walking was not allowed and the reasons are valid. It's really not safe.

I'll mention my idea again. For the morning, on your way to work drive them to place from where it's a safe, comfortable walk and drop them to walk the rest of the way. That way they don't arrive too early.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Call me old fashioned, but I believe the responsibility for feeding children belongs to the parents, not the school.

Getting children safely to the school the government mandates they attend should be a school board priority.

Okay, you're old fashioned.

No, seriously, in the USA the school lunch program was first started in many states and was funded by the states during the great depression because too many kids were showing up so hungry to class that they couldn't learn. My own DMIL was a child in the Dust Bowl. She talked about being so hungry in class that she ate her rubber eraser. In some of the families she knew, one or two kids got to eat on a given day - they rotated through, with any who were actually bringing anything in the way of sustenance getting priority. Kids were dying of starvation. Giving kids a hot lunch in school meant that you knew the child was eating, and that the parents or other family members weren't getting it first. It was also a reason for kids to show up instead of working. (Sadly, it still is in some places.)

During WWII, the US Army found it had a major problem when they were drafting young men to serve. Too many young men were seriously stunted due to malnutrition in their childhood. Many states already had feeding programs in the schools in place and these programs were working very well at preventing malnutrition. The federal government put the school lunch system in place across the entire USA and made it a federal mandate, because in the work force and the military, the US need people who hadn't been starved as children.

In today's world, we tend to focus on the obesity problem, but as any public school teacher in an area with a good percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches, if there was no school lunch program in place, there are kids who would go hungry. These are kids who look forward each day to a hot lunch and a hot breakfast, and will show up any time the doors are open, because they know they will get fed, and that's not a guarantee they will get at home.

 

[snarlingcoyote]

OP, this may not solve your morning problem, and I've looked, but haven't seen anyone reply with this one - in our town, kids may ride the bus to the public library after school.

The librarians are very clear that they are NOT babysitters and any kids who misbehave will find their parents called and may find themselves banned, but a lot of kids in my town in middle school or higher go to the library after school. For the ones without computers at home, it allows them to get their homework done; others read or use whatever internet available device they've got with the library wi-fi, or if a computer is free (homeworkers get first availability, I think. Adults are pretty much discouraged from even trying to use the computers from 3 to 5, LOL!) they can surf the net on that.

 

[ICF]

Glad my school has bus service for anyone, reglardless of grade or distance......

 

[FayeW]

Okay, you're old fashioned.

No, seriously, in the USA the school lunch program was first started in many states and was funded by the states during the great depression because too many kids were showing up so hungry to class that they couldn't learn. My own DMIL was a child in the Dust Bowl. She talked about being so hungry in class that she ate her rubber eraser. In some of the families she knew, one or two kids got to eat on a given day - they rotated through, with any who were actually bringing anything in the way of sustenance getting priority. Kids were dying of starvation. Giving kids a hot lunch in school meant that you knew the child was eating, and that the parents or other family members weren't getting it first. It was also a reason for kids to show up instead of working. (Sadly, it still is in some places.)

During WWII, the US Army found it had a major problem when they were drafting young men to serve. Too many young men were seriously stunted due to malnutrition in their childhood. Many states already had feeding programs in the schools in place and these programs were working very well at preventing malnutrition. The federal government put the school lunch system in place across the entire USA and made it a federal mandate, because in the work force and the military, the US need people who hadn't been starved as children.

In today's world, we tend to focus on the obesity problem, but as any public school teacher in an area with a good percentage of students who are eligible for free and reduced lunches, if there was no school lunch program in place, there are kids who would go hungry. These are kids who look forward each day to a hot lunch and a hot breakfast, and will show up any time the doors are open, because they know they will get fed, and that's not a guarantee they will get at home.

Thank you for giving me that explanation and the history of the lunch program; I had no idea why you had adopted a policy/program that seems to be pretty much non-existent in Canada. Very interesting!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

Thank you for giving me that explanation and the history of the lunch program; I had no idea why you had adopted a policy/program that seems to be pretty much non-existent in Canada. Very interesting!

I know it's totally weird to Canadians that we feed our kids free lunches. I know. But we don't have any other decent system in place to feed our poorest kids. Canada has a different, and, IMO, better safety net to make sure kids aren't hungry. But, yeah, at least this way, our poorest, most vulnerable kids get hot meals.

 

[cornflake]

Thank you for giving me that explanation and the history of the lunch program; I had no idea why you had adopted a policy/program that seems to be pretty much non-existent in Canada. Very interesting!

Yeah, it's very different with the kids going home/out for lunch in Canada in some places (I know ON is big on this, Van not so much in my experience but obviously places differ).

In the U.S., there are so many children who rely on school lunch and breakfast (many districts have schools open early and provide free breakfast) programs for their nutrition that some districts have set up backpack programs in which kids get a little backpack that is packed up with food (from foodbanks usually) on Fridays for the weekend for them, so they don't go so hungry.

Food insecurity (not outright hunger like not having food at all, but the condition of being unsure of being financially able to obtain a next meal at least some times a day or week, there are specifics to it I don't remember offhand), is a huge problem in this country. Something close to 20 million kids rely on free lunch/breakfast programs.

 

[Fly4free]

In my school district the MS & HS students must live over 1.5 mi. from the schools to qualify for bussing. We live about 1.3 mi. away and the school made sure to put the closest bus stop far enough away from those of us that just miss qualifying that it isn't worth it.

My kids have to walk and I was worried about the oldest the first year, but he actually likes walking. It's a social time and helps burn off that energy after sitting in school all day. DD starts MS this year and I already know the 1st sign of a little rain or cold she will be asking for a ride. I better find a carpool buddy.

 

[BuzznBelle'smom]

We're a mile from the HS and my kids walk. Well, DD17 walks--and crabs about it constantly. Sure, she can run 8 miles a day in cross country practice, but it's so not fair for her to walk to school! She also tried to convince me that if I bought her a car, she wouldn't have to walk. She does like walking home, though.

DS15 rides his bike when weather permits. He doesn't complain about walking.

Both of them like to be able to stay after school and socialize or do clubs. My rule is, if you're not going to be home by 3pm, call. I've been known to take pity and pick them up if the weather's bad--so long as they don't abuse the privilege.