MERIDIAN, Idaho — Happy First day back to school! Parents and students in the West Ada School District are seeing some changes this school year.
The district Activities Director Jason Warr spent the morning stopping by schools, he tells me the energy around the first day has been exciting, “I’ve heard good things, it sounds like a great start. Seems like a great, great energy in the air, and I heard busing has been great, that’s a first day 'snaf-oo,' and concern you always have."
West Ada Transports roughly 10-thousand students to-and-from school each school day in Meridian, Eagle, Star, and surrounding communities.
Not only will students who ride the bus see a brand new fleet of buses through Durham School Services now all with air conditioning. There’s also a new feature that aims to promote safety for students and peace of mind for parents.
I spoke with West Ada’s director of transportation about this extra layer of security… with every student scanning their way on board.
“So when ‘Joe’ loads the bus, he’ll scan on. The driver will get his name, it will have a picture of him, and let the driver know that that is where he is getting on. In the very rare case that a student gets off at the wrong stop, we immediately have an address that we can give to parents, and dispatch people out to get the kiddo,” explained Miranda Carson.
One student tells Idaho New 6 that the first day is exciting but also comes with some nervous feelings.
“It's the first day and first days are always stressful. I'm pretty excited about these classes just because I have Auto-tech and I enjoy doing stuff with cars,” said Bee Cutler, a sophomore at Meridian High School.
And in the classroom, students will now follow a district wide, ‘no cell phones in classrooms’ policy. West Ada says this will help eliminate distractions for students… and keep the focus on learning.
