A webinar discussed how Detroit Public Schools Community District in Michigan utilizes solutions like alternative transportation to combat chronic absenteeism and increase educational access.
Joe Brumfield, vice president of business development for webinar sponsor HopSkipDrive, is a former educator who underscored the importance of school transportation with a story of school bus drivers, “who might as well have been wearing big red capes,” when providing transportation for students displaced from a school that was impacted by the recent fires in Los Angeles County.
“The smiles on [students’] faces within this tragedy was just enough to get us all through,” he shared during the event Thursday. “Transportation is without a doubt the most critical part of the school day.”
Aaron Walter, executive director of transportation for Detroit Public Schools, shared the rampant local poverty levels and how chronic absenteeism was decreasing until the COVID-19 pandemic, when it rose sharply. The school bus driver shortage poses more problems, so multimodal transportation methods in use at the district include school buses, transit buses, taxis, vans, transportation network companies, and gas cards for parents. The options provide the right fits for students with special needs, parents who want more tracking technology, and any other unique requests.
“Without transportation network companies, without HopSkipDrive, we would be hard pressed to figure out how to get students to school right now,” Walter said. “Not every student is best supported by a bus.”
Brumfield referenced bus and staff shortages, budgetary pressures, heightened individualized transportation needs, geographic limitations, inefficient public transportation systems, and more trends reflected in HopSkipDrive’s annual State of School Transportation survey.
He shared that 75 percent of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds face chronic absenteeism levels of about 60 percent, compared to a two percent rate for students who attend affluent schools.
“This is really about students who are furthest away from opportunity,” he said. “Without a solution that really talks about multimodal transportation, I don’t see how we’re going to address chronic absenteeism.”
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Walter noted that HopSkipDrive tracks repeated missed transportation pickups so districts can engage with families to learn their needs and ensure their children have educational access. He added that students experiencing homelessness may move around a lot, but the stability of their school, teachers and friends is crucial to their well-being.
For students who are homeless, in foster care, or with disabilities, Walter said that working with HopSkipDrive’s system lets him update or input new information to reroute their transportation vehicle overnight. With parental visibility being so important, bus driver assignments and school arrival notifications are also provided. Brumfield noted that special needs information like a student’s preferred seat, temperature or music can also be provided to drivers and monitors.
Walter said Detroit sends caregivers texts regarding students’ alternative transportation rides, which has reduced calls into the office. Brumfield confirmed that HSD also receives turn-by-turn ride information to take proactive action in the event of a stall or crash.
Both panelists agreed that combining HopSkipDrive’s driver training, driver behavior reports, and student ratings provides districts with helpful metrics and safety oversight.
Walter said Detroit places high value on timely arrivals, as school is likely the first or only place some students receive meals. The missed pickup report is also critical to ensure students are being served and the district isn’t paying for unnecessary services.
Student address and accommodations are the first two factors when deciding what type of vehicle is needed to transport them, Walter said. Legalities must be considered, such as whether a student is the right height and weight to sit in the front seat of the vehicle. Athletic trips, dual credit classes at colleges, and other unique requests must also be fulfilled. In the interest of efficiency, HopSkipDrive can schedule single or recurring trips based on optimized student schedules and needs, Brumfield stated.
Detroit doesn’t transport to schools of choice but will provide transit bus passes, set up different school bus stops, and otherwise work with families. Walter said good relationships with the special education and homeless departments are important in finding solutions that work for everyone.
