SEYMOUR — While parents may be feeling a bit apprehensive about sending their kids back to the classroom amid a pandemic, school officials are pulling out all the stops — including at the bus stops — to ensure attending school is as safe as possible.
And when the big, yellow buses pull up to students’ stops next week, each will feature a bus monitor just to make sure everyone’s doing what they’re supposed to.
“We want our students on our buses to wear masks, and to sit in their seats and make sure they’re doing the right thing,” said Superintendent of Schools Michael Wilson. “This is a lot for the bus driver to do alone. We heard from several parents during our recent Q&A sessions on how are we going to ensure the safety of our students traveling to and from school.”
The answer, Wilson said, was to appropriate money and hire 15 bus monitors — one for each of the school buses.
Seymour schools will be reopening the 2020-21 year on Sept. 8 under a hybrid plan. Students will be split into two groups, with each group attending school in person two days per week and learning remotely the other three days. The reduced in-person schedule means far fewer students on the school buses, Wilson said.
Fewer students on the bus means easier social distancing, according to Business Manager Sherry Holmes, who heads up transportation issues for the district. And to help ensure students are staying safe while onboard is where the new bus monitors come in.
“The bus monitors will make sure our students are safe on the bus, wearing their masks and keeping socially distanced,” Holmes said. “Everyone will see it’s quite safe to ride the bus. We’re keeping the students in our mind at all times, and their safety is number one to us.”
The Board of Education at a recent virtual meeting approved the addition of bus monitors. Wilson said the positions, which pay $11.21 an hour, will be funded through money the district is slated to receive through the state’s second wave of COVID-19 relief funds.
Cindy Dion’s child is a senior this year, and while her student won’t be relying on the school bus to get to and from school, she appreciated the board’s efforts in making safety a priority by adding the bus monitors.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Dion said. “We rely on our bus drivers to get our kids to and from school safely by paying attention to the roads. Having extra eyes to watch our children during these unprecedented times is beneficial for both the students and the drivers.”
Holmes said the buses themselves will be sanitized after each run, and also at the end of each day. She said the district’s transportation provider, All-Star, is committed to keeping both students and its staff safe on the road.
School bus routes have been posted on the district’s website. If parents plan to drive their students to school in the morning, but wish to have their child ride the school bus, they need to contact central office at 203-888-4564 to ensure all students are accounted for.
jean.sos@snet.net
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September 01, 2020 at 05:00PM
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Seymour adds bus monitors to ensure COVID compliance - CT Insider
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