Transportation chief: ‘These kids are our kids’

Social distancing, masks, cleaning meant to ensure student safety

“This summer has been up there with the most challenging, It’s definitely been different and more involved. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the ‘Twilight Zone.’ “Amy Santandrea, Berneknox-westerlo School District transportation director

At the start of this school year, school staff and parents have a lot to consider to protect everyone’s health and safety.

Yet when it comes to busing, Amy Santandrea tells parents at Berne-knox-westerlo School District not to worry because she and her staff treat every child like they are their own.

“I’m not going to fool around,” said the district transportation director. “My own kids ride the bus. Any parent who calls, we reassure them, these kids are our kids. We will get them to school safely.”

Like so many other transportation directors in the state, Santandrea is following strict protocols to ensure the buses are sanitized between runs, wellventilated and that all riders and drivers are wearing masks and socially distanced amid the persistent threat of the coronavirus pandemic. In Berne-knox-westerlo,

which covers 126 square miles, that means more bus runs to get 600 riding children to school.

“We used to have one ride in the morning and one ride in the afternoon with Pre-k through 12 riding together,” Santandrea said. “Now we have to split it with younger kids first and then another run for the older kids. There is hybrid learning in the high school, so that will help cut down on the number of kids on the bus to keep them socially distant.”

Figuring it all out hasn’t been easy. Santandrea has had to reconstruct all the bus routes, which took hours of Santandrea’s evenings to map out new courses.

“This summer has been up there with the most challenging,” she said. “It’s definitely been different and more involved. Sometimes I feel like I’m in the ‘Twilight Zone.”

Jeffrey Wainwright, transportation director with the Saratoga Springs City School District, can relate. He, like Santandrea, is also making sure children are safe. In addition to mask at all times and cleanings between runs, Saratoga Springs schools will have assigned seats with only children in the same families allowed to sit together.

Students will also board from back to front. When leaving, they will exit from front to back. This way, students won’t be passing each other in the aisles.

He also said windows will be down and vents will open until it grows too cold.

“We will try to maximize the airflow,” Wainwright said. “We are going to keep everything open without freezing them out, until about 45 degrees. If

we have to have the heat on too, we will … We are maximizing safety. We are doing what we can to protect everyone’s health.”

Wainwright also said that the district’s ridership will be down significantly — from its usual 6,300 to about 2,800 students this fall. He said many parents have opted to drive their children to school while many others have chosen virtual learning only.

At Berne-knox-westerlo, Santandrea said she was surprised that more parents didn’t decide to drive their kids back

and forth to school. She’s only down about 150 student riders this year. She believes that because families know her bus drivers — “they will see them at Stewart’s” — parents feel more confident in the safety measures. But like Saratoga Springs, she said the hybrid schedule has helped to reduce the overall number of students riding the bus.

In addition to masks, both districts will supply their drivers with gloves, especially important as the youngest children and special education students

can require hands-on care. Many of those youngest children, Santandrea said, need help with tying shoelaces or fastening seat belts. Many of the special needs students, she said, will be assisted on and off the bus by parents.

Face shields, Wainwright said, are a no-no as they could hinder a driver’s vision. Drivers will be able to have hand sanitizers and will wipe down high touch areas throughout the bus run.

Asked if the students will be able to adhere to social distancing rules

on the bus, Santandrea said she thinks they will because “they are usually pretty good.”

“They are sweet,” Santandrea said. “Sometimes, they sit there and you don’t hear a peep.”

Still, she said, she will see for herself by getting out of the office and driving routes — especially on the “hot buses” where the kids are more rambunctious. She also said driving once in a while helps because there is a shortage of drivers, a perpetual problem that plagues Saratoga Springs, too.

The shortage will be amplified once field trips as well as after-school and athletic programs begin again. For now, Wainwright assured that the district is ready and “has done a really good job.”

“We’ve been making changes as we go along,” Wainwright said. “In this business, we have to be flexible and work with each other as much as we can to get the kids to school. It’s been a challenge, but we are working hard to make sure we will be ready for the first day of school.”