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Pre School Transportation Fact Sheet
Every year the district gets many questions in regards to pre-school transportation. The number one question often asked is – “Why is there not door to door transportation?”
There are many reasons why the district uses the shuttle pick up points for Preschool transportation. The number one reason is the students themselves. Prior to the current method, children 3 and 4 years old were transported on a bus with students up to the age of 21. The district strongly feels that this is not an appropriate age span of students. In addition, the students were also frequently on a bus for extended periods of time; up to two hours each way. Again, the district felt that this was not appropriate for our youngest learners.
Valley school focuses on age appropriate skills and development of children. The school day at Valley is shorter and takes into consideration child developmental needs. A later start and earlier finish meets the needs of these new learners. With the shuttle, we are able to provide transportation that fits into this schedule. The size of the district and amount of staffing it would take for a second full bus run is prohibitive.
The funding for the program is grant generated and is fixed. Although the district has established a strong instructional program for our Pre-K students we receive limited state aid to sustain it. The district must try to maximize opportunities for all students, but also be sensitive to how much we ask the community to fund.
Our district is unique in the fact that it provides a full day Pre-K program free of charge to all district students who are able to attend. Other districts either have half day programming for Pre-K or do not offer Pre-K at all to district residents. Those that do offer a program, often have limited slots. The district’s wise choice of investing in the instructional staff versus the transportation has allowed us to support more children preparing them for the start of kindergarten.
Preschool is not a mandated service, but one that Addison Central School District feels is very important. Although we are not able to provide door to door transportation, the district has found ways to help make sure we reach as many children as possible. This includes expanded shuttle locations next year and also early drop off times at the Valley school starting at 7:30.
Shuttle Pick Up Times and Locations
