Yeah I was thinking the same thing - school started at 8AM- maybe even 7:45.
I also had to walk...up hill...both ways...in 4 feet of snow...
Well not really - but did have to walk and it was just under a mile.
No rides or buses in those days...and you walked to school in all sorts of weather.
I still live in the same house and there is now a bus, but for the most part no one takes it and the parents drop the kids off.