Dcps has no school bus?

[Anonymous]

My friend tells me that she just learns that there is no school bus for dcps. Are all school close by? The family only has one car, and she is a sahm with no car. They just move there, and they have a preschooler.

[Anonymous]

Not generally, no. Only for children who qualify through a special education program.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend tells me that she just learns that there is no school bus for dcps. Are all school close by? The family only has one car, and she is a sahm with no car. They just move there, and they have a preschooler.

No, DCPS doesn't run school buses like many other districts do. DCPS kids older than 5 get an ID card that works as a fare card on WMATA. If kids are classified as homeless or have special needs that require transportation, those kids ride a bus but it's not available to the general public. DC is a very dense urban area. Having school buses clutter up the residential streets picking up kids or dropping off in front of 150+ schools every morning would be chaos. It's also not necessary as many schools are walking distance and as I said, public transit is available.

[Anonymous]

That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

[Anonymous]

Every address in DC has assigned in-boundary schools and you are guaranteed a place at them for grades k-12. Some are closer than others but it would be hard to find one that requires a car to attend! Pre-K is a little different since not all schools offer pk3 and some don't have space for all inbounds kids. Seats are administered through the lottery, and it closes tomorrow (March 1) so your friend should do it if she will be able to prove DC residency by the enrollment deadline of May 1st. If that won't work there are ways to apply post-lottery and non-lottery options, but many seats will be taken.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every address in DC has assigned in-boundary schools and you are guaranteed a place at them for grades k-12. Some are closer than others but it would be hard to find one that requires a car to attend! Pre-K is a little different since not all schools offer pk3 and some don't have space for all inbounds kids. Seats are administered through the lottery, and it closes tomorrow (March 1) so your friend should do it if she will be able to prove DC residency by the enrollment deadline of May 1st. If that won't work there are ways to apply post-lottery and non-lottery options, but many seats will be taken.

I should have mentioned the lottery application is at myschooldc.org and they have information in different languages and families can even call them at 202-888-6336 for help.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My friend tells me that she just learns that there is no school bus for dcps. Are all school close by? The family only has one car, and she is a sahm with no car. They just move there, and they have a preschooler.

Many families in DC have 1 car - your friend is not unique.
If your friend is able to manage the day without a car, I would assume they are walking distance to public transportation. The elementary schools typically are zoned
so that most of the children can walk to them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

NP - which charters have busses? We’re a Ward 1 family with no car, so commute is a real limiting factor for us. I’d appreciate any info here. I’d love it if my kid could take a bus to some farther away charter schools.

[Anonymous]

A lot of major cities have the kids use public transportation instead of employing separate school buses.

[Anonymous]

DC students get a Kids Ride Free metro card which allows them to ride the subway or the bus for free to get to school if needed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

NP - which charters have busses? We’re a Ward 1 family with no car, so commute is a real limiting factor for us. I’d appreciate any info here. I’d love it if my kid could take a bus to some farther away charter schools.

there are so many good schools in ward 1! why would you send your kid to a charter. though if it's for upper grades, i can see that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

NP - which charters have busses? We’re a Ward 1 family with no car, so commute is a real limiting factor for us. I’d appreciate any info here. I’d love it if my kid could take a bus to some farther away charter schools.

The charters with buses don’t stop in Ward 1 anymore I don’t think. There used to be a Yu Yong stop. Maybe Sela. I think Latin has a bus but I don’t think it comes to W1.

But those private buses are $$$. Also not practical for a 3 year old.

Regular people use metro/public bus/bike/car/walking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

NP - which charters have busses? We’re a Ward 1 family with no car, so commute is a real limiting factor for us. I’d appreciate any info here. I’d love it if my kid could take a bus to some farther away charter schools.

The charters with buses don’t stop in Ward 1 anymore I don’t think. There used to be a Yu Yong stop. Maybe Sela. I think Latin has a bus but I don’t think it comes to W1.

But those private buses are $$$. Also not practical for a 3 year old.

Regular people use metro/public bus/bike/car/walking.

$2100-2400 a year, depending on whether you prepay or pay monthly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That's correct. There are school buses but only for children who qualify. DCPS children can use the metro train or bus for free. Many kids go to their neighborhood school and there are many that do not. Some of the charter schools have buses for children that come from other parts of the city.

NP - which charters have busses? We’re a Ward 1 family with no car, so commute is a real limiting factor for us. I’d appreciate any info here. I’d love it if my kid could take a bus to some farther away charter schools.

there are so many good schools in ward 1! why would you send your kid to a charter. though if it's for upper grades, i can see that.

PP here. We’re happy at our IB school for now, but we’re zoned for CHEC for middle school which is an unappealing option. So we’ll need a middle school path, probably long before our three kids can take a city bus alone. $2100 a year is a heck of a lot less than owning a car!! So if there are other schools that have this, please speak up.

[Anonymous]

My son and most of his friends started taking the city bus alone at age 10-11. It was fine.