How far do your kids walk to school?

[clori]

We only have busses for kids living more than 2 miles from school and it is only guaranteed for grades k-4. Grades 5&6 can ride if there is room availible. That said my city is only about 5 sq miles so the vast majority of kids live within 2 miles of school thus not qualifying for the bus. We also have public transportatioin (mbta) busses that kids can ride for half price with a student pass or get a monthly student pass.

The high school is 1.75 miles from home so most likely my kids will take the mbta bus when they get to high school grades. Their k-8 school is 0.5 miles from my house. We only have one car which dh drives to work. My kids walk to school. It is about 10 minutes pretty much all sidewalk. There is one major street to cross with a crossing guard. I think biking would be a pain. I live on a steep hill that I have only seen people walking and pushing their bikes up. The kids could technically walk down the hill (1/3 of the way) then take the city bus the rest of the way but honestly by the time they wait for a bus they can be at school already.

 

[LuvsDragonflies]

5 miles, up hill, BOTH WAYS, in a snowstorm, oh wait, that was me.

 

[tajz90]

5 miles, up hill, BOTH WAYS, in a snowstorm, oh wait, that was me.

Omg! That's funny!

As a spoiled only child, I walked about a 1/2 mile to and from school.

My children only walk as far as the car in the garage. Man, they have it made these days!

 

[DISvirgin1]

I know there are lots of roads I would be fearful of walking myself, let alone carrying a heavy backpack in all kinds of weather. Hopefully there is a school bus. Around here I think the cutoff is a mile and beyond that distance bus transportation is provided. I would imagine that other families carpool their children to the school from somewhere close to you, so the trick is to find some. It could be a good way to meet your neighbors.

Agreed. We recently had this issue come up and we (parents) fought it. Our kids are much younger though and we have rural country roads and highways with truck traffic. In one case the kids who were expected to walk were legally were not allowed to be walking on the one road (state highway).

If you have sidewalks for the children to walk on, crossing guards and law enforcment working together to ensure kids are safe walking to and from school then wonderful. If not, bussing should be offered, even if parents pay an additonal fee for it. If that makes my kids "speshul snowflakes" because of it than so be it. I don't give a rat's butt what others think so long as my kids are able to get safely to and from school.

 

[FayeW]

If you have sidewalks for the children to walk on, crossing guards and law enforcment working together to ensure kids are safe walking to and from school then wonderful. If not, bussing should be offered, even if parents pay an additonal fee for it. If that makes my kids "speshul snowflakes" because of it than so be it. I don't give a rat's butt what others think so long as my kids are able to get safely to and from school.

I completely agree! This was a brand new subdivision when we moved in, and there was already a plan in place to build a new elementary school, which opened the next year. My son was expected to walk, it was about 2 kms or so, no big deal EXCEPT that the entire route to school was a massive construction zone as they built the homes on those streets, and the sidewalks weren't in yet.

In good weather, it wasn't going to be an issue but in the winter, with huge snow drifts and no sidewalks, you could barely get by a car coming in the opposite direction. Where was a child supposed to go to get out of the way of a snow plow or construction vehicles? I called the school board and explained the situation, and they agreed to provide busing for all the students.

Not being a helicopter parent to my snowflake...just didn't want him run over by a plow! After the sidewalks went in the next summer he walked to school.

 

[clori]

Our school has a bike rack but I have no idea how many kids ride a bike to school. The school does off a pay for $5 a day drop off program which has some educational component then breakfast time. It is open to any kid in grade k-8. There is a after school daycare program for grades k-5. For kids in grades 6-8 there is a free program on Mon thru Thurs. The kids have to sign up for specific days (min of 2) and it is not a drop in program.

We don't have any before school outdoor supervision. We don't have drop off/pick up car lines. For kids in k/1 they go in a door by the playground and an adult is expected to be with them until their teacher comes out to bring the line in. Kids who don't have an adult are supposed to go to the cafeteria where if wanted they can buy breakfast (free breakfast if qualified) and talk usually under supervision of vice principal. I think this opens 1/2 hour before school starts. In nice weather kids usually get there about 5-15 minutes before school starts and hang around outside talking or play in the field. The Vice Prinicipal usually tells the kids who are on the field when it is time to go in. Otherwise kids usually hear the line up bell then go line up. If weather isn't nice the kids usually wait in the cafeteria.

This year my 12 year old starts school 1/2 hour ealier than my 8 year old so she will walk alone. I probably would have let her walk alone at 10ish but since I had to walk younger dd anyway we just walked together. In general it seems like starting 5th grade kids who walk start walking to/from school alone. For the public transportation bus which stops adjacent to school or across the street depending on direction some parents send kids alone starting in 2nd grade but many parents are more comfortable around grades 4/5.