SPOKANE, Wash. — Late arrivals and lack of busing is the headline for many local school children this year.
The national bus driver shortage has impacted students all over the region, forcing parents and educators to get creative to get the kids in class on time.
At Mullan Road Elementary School in Spokane, the principal, staff and volunteers have stopped waiting for the bus and forged ahead with new plans to get in-person learning started on time.
At 8 a.m. kids start to gather at a South Hill apartment complex. Then they wait for the bus, well, sort of.
It’s a bus without wheels, powered by the energy of elementary kids, volunteers and Mullan Road principal Matt Beal.
"Not everyone can do that. But this is a mile it’s a good walk, kids like it, they have fun," Beal said.
The nationwide bus driver shortage has taken a turn into most morning routines throughout the Inland Northwest. That means, twice a week this group of kids from one neighborhood would show up to 70 minutes late to school.
An hour or more of learning missed while waiting for a bus.
Beal decided it was better to do some curbside pick-up and help the families out by walking the kids the mile to school. Anywhere between a couple dozen to fifty or more students show up.
Beal is one of many educators getting creative, working to ensure kids get to school on time.
"We have principals everywhere, some driving vans, some just figuring out what they can do to get kids to school," Beal said. "We are throwing ideas, what about this? This is just solution for right now."
For Beale and his team here at Mullan Road, it means a group effort. Parent volunteers like Andrea Tichey, who saw a problem and wanted to be part of a solution.
"I feel like it’s a way to help the community and the kids," Tichey said. "I think it’s important that we show it’s important to show there are people to get up in the morning and walk with these kids."