LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The first day of school was in full swing as buses headed out early Monday morning from the Arville Transportation Yard.
Buses taking kids to-and-from school had some extra safety guidelines they wanted parents to know about ahead of the first week.
We spoke with Clark County School District Supt. Dr. Jesus Jara who was at the Arville bus yard, making sure the first day of school was off to a smooth start. He talked about how the district plans to keep students and staff healthy as buses begin rolling into the school year.
“Bus drivers are excited; our children are ready to go. We’re excited for it to be a busy day,a busy day for our community, and for our kids," said Dr. Jara.
Drivers honked their horns and waved at their superintendent, but with COVID-19 surging again, there will be more rules to follow to try and keep kids safe.
“As I said last year when we opened schools, flexibility, patience and grace, those three things are still so important. Our kids will follow the directions of wearing a mask," said Jara.
Other directions include seating charts for buses, which will help contact-trace potential COVID-19 infections.
Many students are returning to in-person learning for the first time in over a year while others have had some experience attending in-person but with restrictions in place.
“We’ve been going through this, there’s been practice. We’ve had Spring, we’ve had the Summer, and our kids have always risen to the challenge. So right now, our focus is getting our kids back in our classrooms to accelerate all the learning-loss that we’ve had,” said Jara.
As students head back to class, parents and drivers are being asked to pump the brakes. Jara is encouraging drivers to learn and follow bus and transportation safety rules, especially while driving through school zones.
“Our staff, our 32,000 employees, are ready. I would just say for our community, our drivers, just slow down, slow down in the school zones, for our kids as they’re coming back, walking, on bikes, and on buses.” said the superintendent.
For the latest on CCSD's transportation and safety guidelines, click here.
