Dear District 99 Board of Education,
I regret to inform you that you are actively failing your students. For a school that binds posters on the wall saying how attendance is important and how every student “belongs” at Downers grove south, you fail to take account of what really helps your students, reliable transportation. This issue relates to your 3:20 buses and how these buses show the blatant hypocrisy of your school motto.

On numerous accounts, I’ve seen buses come well over 20 to 30 minutes after school has ended, in both cold weather and extreme heat; as well as kids not being able to find a seat on the bus they were assigned to, as it was overcrowded, resulting in those kids having to walk or find another form of transportation. For two years now, while still continuing. That’s why I strongly urge you to reconsider the 3:20 buses, as it benefits not only the students but the school as well.

To start off, it is clear that this year improving attendance is one of your biggest goals, as you have set up systems like scanning into every class, meant to improve attendance numbers. However if you really want to fix this issue, I would like to call your attention to the afternoon buses.

You may be wondering what the end of the day transportation has to do with student attendance? Well, a lot actually. According to one student who take bus four, a bus that is a culprit of being late on numerous occasions, “I missed Monday (2/12) because I didn’t want to wait in the cold for the bus,”

This was the Monday after the first online school day, where other schools around DGS closed due to the weather. Now tell me, if you really cared about students and their attendance, why not address the issue that caused them to not want to come to your school. For students to be so confident that the bus would not be there that they choose not to attend school is baffling to say the least.

This wasn’t the only time students found frustration in the buses, another example is when a bus did not come at all and a substitute had to come and step in. No students was informed, and it came almost around 4:10 in the afternoon, in the winter coldness.

The students aren’t the only ones that have an issue with the buses, as your security guards try to calm the crowd of frustrated students that just want to get home, or even allow students to go inside, as waiting outside in the cold for nearly 30 minutes could be dangerous.

Additionally, teachers also find it upsetting to see students wait in adverse weather conditions, well after the dismissal bell has rung. I have a great amount gratitude for the security guards and teachers who show concern, but disappointed that the school board doesn’t have the same empathy.

Furthermore, if the school motto is “every student belongs at DGS”, then I would think you would do more to show that instead of flashy posters that frankly do not have any impact on students. So tell me why don’t you care enough about students to not have them packed into buses.

Now, I would understand if all the buses were overpacked. Although that’s not the case as I’ve seen buses with six to ten kids on one bus, while on others students have to push and shove just to get a seat. This frankly is insanity.

It shows that not every student belongs, because you don’t even have space for them. It also shows the inequality and lack of thought behind assigning the buses to the students. I would have more empathy for you but it’s entirely your job and responsibility.

For a school that prides itself on students finding their place, I figured you would go out of your way to do so. As I mentioned, Bus four isn’t the only bus with these issues. I’ve seen other buses do the same, where students had to wait well after the other buses left, or had to run as soon as the bus came to have a seat.

There is a misconception that students could solve this issue themselves by choosing not to ride the bus either by finding a ride, driving themselves, or walking. To those misconceptions, it’s not that simple, these students take the bus because they don’t live close enough to the school, or their parents work and can’t pick them up everyday. That’s why it’s so important that the buses have enough seats for every student assigned to that bus.

Now how can you change this issue? For one you could have students take a survey before next school year to help estimate the number of students taking each bus. Second, let one of the board members in charge of transportation stand outside with the kids, to show that you actually care and eventually you’ll see first hand why the buses are such a big issue.

To end off, while yes, having end of school transportation is a great privilege and probably does take a lot of work to set up, and assign students to buses. It’s discouraging for the students when they go to a school that portrays itself as caring about its students, while also leaving them outside in rain, snow, heat for an extended amount of time, packed in like personal space doesn’t matter. For three years with no change in sight. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of students and a disdain for the school.