Published in the July 24, 2020 edition
WAKEFIELD — The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way everyone operates, including public school systems and their students. Currently, Wakefield education officials are in the process of putting the final touches on three plans for reopening school for the 2020-2021 academic year. Those plans must be turned into the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for review by the end of this month.
The following information was sent to the families of Wakefield students by Deidre Sandonato, Transportation Coordinator for the Wakefield Public Schools on Thursday, July 23:
We hope to find you and your family doing well during this unprecedented time. We look forward to seeing your children back at school, in whatever plan is approved fort he fall.
Transportation will look a little different than in past years. We are learning that we will need to be flexible with bus times, and routes.We would like to see the bus schedules stay as consistent as possible, but we do foresee that schedules could change throughout the school year.
As always, our goal is top rovide the safest ride to and from school and having our students arrive on time to school.
The 2020-2021 bus registration is now open to students from K-12 that live over two miles from their assigned school. By law, students in grades K-6, over two miles will be provided free bus transportation. Grades 7-12, over two miles from their assigned school will pay the school bus fee.The bus registration will remain open until August 14. On August 15, we will begin a waitlist for late registrations. Waitlisted students will be added to routes based on available space on buses/routes.
Bus transportation is an extension of our schools and also has guidelines that we will follow to maintain a healthy and safe environment for all.
• Everyone on the bus will be required to wear a mask at all times. Additional masks will be available if needed.
• Buses will be sanitized after each bus run.
• Windows will be open for ventilation.
• Bus capacity will be reduced to follow social distancing guidelines from DESE. This would allow us to have 23 to 25 students on our buses. A 71 passenger bus would equal 23 students and a 77 passenger bus would equal 25 students. One student per row.
The bus fee for the 2020-2021 school year is $355 for a roundtrip pass or $245 for a one-way pass (morning or afternoon only). Students who qualify for free/reduced lunch will be provided a bus pass at no charge, however the family must still complete the registration process. We ask that you do not make payment until further notice.
Please do not use this form for Special Education student transportation as that will be scheduled directly with our Special Education Department.
Here is the link for bus registration:
https://www.wakefieldpublicschools.org/district/transportation/pages/transportation-registration
Thank you and have a wonderful and healthy summer.
