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I just got my son's bus assignment for next year..it says "METRO"

Started 1 year ago by AlkiCabCompany
Latest reply from redblack

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AlkiCabCompany
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Yes, this is true. Seattle School District says my son will be issued an Orca pass and will ride the Metro Bus to school. My little 11 year old boy..yikes..no thanks. It's bad enough worrying about bullies on the school bus, now I gotta worry about creepy grownups too! What the hell.

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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SDS has implemented that this year, too. How far away does he have to go?

Posted 1 year ago #
karen
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Yeah, mine came today, too. My 8 year old daughter is expected to walk up to a mile to the nearest "community Bus stop". Supposedly in a safe walk zone, but within a few blocks of our house, in every direction is a major street.
I know they've got to cut costs somewhere but this is just going to add to congestion on the city streets. You can bet I'll be driving to and from school. And before you jump all over me, to walk her to the bus would be a round trip of two mile for me - twice a day. I'm sure I'm not the only parent who will have to make this decision because of work, scheduling or health reasons.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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We are on Alki and the school is Madison, which is a few miles away up the hill. Today I saw a school bus drop off a child on the corner of California and Admiral less than a block away from the bar where a man went missing after leaving that place. This little boy was younger than my child probably like 6 years old. Why is there a bus stop there? sheesh!

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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WOW. Things are tough. You mean the kids might have to walk to school? Total bummer. And, they might have to cross a street? Double bummer! And get on a Metro bus? What is this world coming to?

Posted 1 year ago #
Gina
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The bus stops at California and Admiral because there are kids that live on that block, and the surrounding blocks.

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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AlkiCabCompany:

Did the school bus drop this young lad of 6 years old, or so, off at 0200 AM? Come on, get a grip!

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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um ok, thanks :) have a nice day :)

love you too!

Posted 1 year ago #
NT
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I feel for you, I'd be anxious, too ... we are at Schmitz now and pretty close to Madison, so we'd be walking anyway, I guess. Aren't you having a baby soon, too? Any chance you can work out some carpools? I try and remind myself that I walked to school sans adult in elementary school and routinely rode Metro downtown alone, also in elementary school. But now that I have my own kiddo, I just cannot even picture it. Good luck with everything!

Posted 1 year ago #
MargL
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Yeah - Genesee Hill - and when I was a kid I had to walk 5 miles to school, in the snow, every day, up hill, both ways!

Seriously - I remember riding my bike to 2nd grade (7 yrs?), by myself going 6 blocks along streets at least as busy as 35th south of Roxbury. Heck - I used to ride my bike all over town - on my own! But that was the 70's.
Then in the 80's my brother and I (probably 13 and 14) got completely lost trying to get from downtown to West Seattle on Metro. We ended up getting stuck in Magnolia and couldn't figure out why the bus driver was stopping the empty, except for us, bus and telling us we needed to get off at a "time stop".
These days I couldn't imagine putting a child of 11, let alone 6, on a Metro bus!
Yes, I have a kid, she's going to kindergarten next year in San Francisco and if we're lucky we'll be able to walk to a neighborhood school, if not we'll be driving!

Posted 1 year ago #
GenHillOne
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Yes, the transition to Metro for all Seattle high school and middle school students has been in the process for years. It doesn't sound like the information is getting to new hs/ms parents very well though. Karen, your 8yo (presumably grade school) was assigned to Metro?

Posted 1 year ago #
karen
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Not Metro - it's called a Community Bus Stop - at or near a different school. That's what the paper says.
Yeah, we used to walk to school 20 years ago (maybe a little more!) I remember that we walked with a group of kids and there were lots of (mostly) moms at home who watched our progress. There are also a lot more cars on the roads and there is less community than there was back then. When I was a kid, I thought I was out of my parent's sight but there were always neighbors keeping an eye on us. As an adult I have found out that a lot of the stuff I thought I got away with, I didn't. My mom knew where we were and what we were up to most of the time.
We also only walked a couple of blocks and never crossed a street like Roxbury or Delridge.

The thing about kids riding to school on the Metro bus, for me, is safety. When my kid gets on the yellow bus, I know that the only other passengers are kids and that the driver has been background checked. I know that the driver knows the kids and that they only get off at school. I don't know if Metro drivers get a background check, but I know the passengers don't. If I choose to have my child ride Metro - that's my choice as a parent. I resent having that choice taken from me so that my child can go to public school.

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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Thank those politicians you vote for.

Posted 1 year ago #
Ken
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Actually thank the school board. They did this to shift the cost from the district to King county. The elected county reps were livid at the time.

Posted 1 year ago #
shihtzu
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I don't know...I kind of think a fairly tame Metro ride from Alki to Madison is a good introduction to learning how to navigate life and take care of yourself. 11 does seem young, but 12 or 13 really doesn't.

I can understand having concerns, but I think I'd be OK with trying it out. Show him how to do it, and leave his iPOD or other stealables at home or put away.

Posted 1 year ago #
bsmomma
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I wasn't even allowed to ride metro until I was 13!

Posted 1 year ago #
mpento
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What is no one else going to say the obvious. A pedicab sitting around waiting to be used. He could get to school and make some money too!

Posted 1 year ago #
renaissancered
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what about moms setting up carpools w/ other moms to take turns dropping kids off at school?
And honestly if you rode the bus during the commuter hours it's filled with those of us who got an ORCA card from our employers and just peeps going to/from work--not a lot of 'creepy grownups' just working adults using a cost effective form of transportation.

or what about Feet First or some walking/bus riding group?

Posted 1 year ago #
I Wonder
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I like how the SSD is crowing about "saving its carbon footprint" and saving money by getting buses off the road. But what about all those cars being forced to drive now that walking zones have been increased, and routes decreased. I'm not advocating for not saving waste, but isn't mass transit the goal of our mayor? Go ahead and growl, but some parents do need to work and put food on the table and school hours don't always concur with that. And I am talking the K-3 crowd...sounds like more car trips, congestion and carbon.

Posted 1 year ago #
nighthawk
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I think there is a big difference between a 11 year old and a 13 year old riding metro to school. I'm not sure I would be thrilled about the 13 year old either but the 11 year old. Definately not.

As to walking to school. Location is a big thing. You may live within the walk zone but it may not be walkable. I know that in my neighborhood there are a LOT of streets that have no sidewalks. And there is at least one that i think of that the visibility is not great and the cars tear it up. You can't let a kid walk on a street like that.

Posted 1 year ago #
herongrrrl
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AlkiCabCompany, I feel you. We got ours yesterday too. (I don't recall that we got one at all last year, which was our first year at Madison.)

Out of curiosity, I used Metro's trip planner to figure out what it would take to get our daughter from Beach Drive to within a quarter mile of Madison: a full hour and THREE different bus routes!

We've been doing a morning carpool, but in a few weeks there will be changes to the adults' work schedules and we're still not sure how we're going to work that.

I have no objection to kids walking to-from school, in fact my kiddo does so now, walking back with a friend to our house or the friend's house after school depending on whose day it is for the carpool. But I don't want my kid walking alone in the mornings, especially considering that the most direct route between us and school includes one of the ten steepest hills in Seattle.

I don't think anyone of middle school age is going to be made a better student by having to get up another hour earlier to walk to school or take three buses, when neurological research shows at this age the kids need as much sleep as they can get!

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
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I used to live on Alki ten years ago. I had to get to work into downtown and back on Metro and it was a pain in the _____! And you wonder why there are thousands of cars littered along the side streets. Alki area still has inadequate Metro service. It won't change.

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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Never mind, all. You are correct. Why would anyone teach their child to get around in a relatively safe neighborhood such as West Seattle?

Drive them to school. Walk them across busy streets. Bicycles: Forget about it!!

In the "olden days", we called these children sheltered. God forbid they should have to learn to ride public transportation.

Is there a chance that they may be picked on?

You better believe it.

Will it totally ruin their life?

Somehow, I doubt it.

But, you are correct! Shelter them!

And no. I walked the water level route to Kirkland Junior High. Very few ups, very few downs. But, sorry to say, it was a mile each way.

Posted 1 year ago #
nighthawk
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It doesn't matter how things used to be...it's like the grumpy old man from old SNL "...and I walked uphill to school 10 miles both ways in the freezing cold wind and snow....AND I LIKED IT!"

We deal with life as it is now, not how it used to be.

Posted 1 year ago #
singularname
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Oh my ... don't even get me started. I'll skip our experience with bus insanity and then the school insanity and say, with all my heart, soul, and conviction: Home-school your kid!

I considered it back when my boy was just out of a hellish kindergarten year (who knew? kindergarten?!). The impossibility list of home-schooling was infinite, but I wasn't clear-headed at the time having just been divorced and in survival mode. But my friend and I just brainstormed 20 or more scenarios of how well it could work given seemingly endless impossibilities (e.g., full-time job, no experience with "education," etc.).

Seriously, sending my son through the Seattle Public Schools system is the single worst mistake I've ever made in my life (and I say that after a year of reviewing all the mistakes I've made in my life).

Good luck to you ...

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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MargL:
Honestly, that is funny! I understand. Fortunately, in Yakima, in the late 50s, the bus routes were pretty basic.

I do remember trying to call my Dad's drugtore when I was four, or so. Back then, one only had to dial 4 digits. I still remember the phone number: 8748. In Yakima, that is. Well, I dialed the wrong number. A lady answered. And I was so embarrassed, I hid between the "automatic ironing machine" and the kitchen counter at our home.

I would love to tell you about catching the 10th Avenue bus in Yakima. But I don't think you all would believe the story, so I won't!

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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nighthawk:

You are right. Deal with life as it is today. But, it is fun remembering the way it WAS!

Sorry, to bore you! But, I guess you can always watch SNL re-runs, eh?

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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AlkiCabCompany:

I apologize to you. One of the reasons that I never had children of my own was because I would worry too much.

I love you, too. Sorry!

Posted 1 year ago #
I Wonder
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I'll bet noone tried to pull a weapon on you at JC Penney's! Kirkland was like Mayberry in those days. Hardly what we know West Seattle to be today.

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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I wonder:

Very few guns back then. But all of us wimps were picked on, to some degree. There were definitely punks back then. I remember one of the most horrific crimes was when a Bellevue teen stabbed his mother to death because she would not let him go out. 1966, or so.

But, I Wonder, I do not feel that West Seattle is all that horrible. Even Today. I have never had a gun pulled on me, ever. Knock on wood.

Posted 1 year ago #
I Wonder
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One difference is that, in your maturity, you can rationalize living in WS as a safe community. Imagine being 8 or 9 years old again, and as a parent, putting them on a metro bus. No one checks them on, or off. Drivers rarely step in to confront trouble makers. I have enough problems seeing the innocence of children stolen on the playground by older kids. I don't need it on transportation. So Mayor McShwinn can frown on me for carbon failure, because his mass transportation strategy is being stiffled by SSD. I grew up on the eastside in those days too. It was Mayberry compared to today. Saying you would "kill" a teacher or student then was laughable. Now, its pretty serious stuff and it does happen. Just because you chose not to have children doesn't mean you can justify the safety concerns of any parent. A glance through the sex offender log might change that too.

Posted 1 year ago #
socamr
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Our 11-year old son has been riding Metro all year without any problems. In fact, some mornings when I offer to drive him he turns me down so that he can ride the bus.

I rode the bus with him the first two days so that he could learn the route, and I think those people criticizing the drivers should rethink it. The drivers are great - they know they have kids on board. And there are lots of kids on board, since so many of them have ORCA cards and need to ride to school.

I think we need to let our kids experience the same things we experienced growing up. Teach them how to be safe, but let them learn independence. They'll be fine.

Posted 1 year ago #
FreedomFromSnark
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Yeah socmr just kind of nailed it...

(We would be wise to keep safety and convenience issues separate...the former is insanely subjective and the latter is just a plain old pain..)

None of this is aimed at anyone or any comment in particular.

This happens to be a subject very near and dear to my heart. I got put on the bus --in San Francisco--for my daily commute when I was something like 8 years old. Which does seem kind of insane, but not unlike a lot of the situations discussed here, it simply couldn't be helped. And I can say, without equivocation or hyperbole, that I learned more in those thousands of hours of staring at people and overhearing conversations and just watching the general flow of things than any other situation I can imagine. Any wisdom I have can be directly tied to just sitting there, day in and day out, taking it all in and learning about people and things...and yes, talking to strangers. Old ones and strange ones and drunk ones and stoned ones and rich ones and homeless ones and super-smart ones from all over the spectrum. That's where I learned that people are different, but the same...and if that's not a quality you value you have bigger problems than bus schedules.

I never got harassed, that I recall, which is to anecdotal to matter...but don't forget, West Seattle prides itself on community, yes?

Want to know what happens when little Johnny starts getting messed with by Joe the Drunken Scumbag? Your neighbor steps up, says quit it, which emboldens others if necessary. It happens every day. As for harassment from other youth...well...Johnny has to figure out what push-ups are sometime. Which is to say nothing of mental toughness, which there's a pretty glaring lack of in the world today, imo.

I'm sure this has been said many, many times and is a little more provocative than I'd like, but I can deal with that: The idea of West Seattle, or anywhere in Seattle, being horribly unsafe is something that's pretty laughable to anyone who's spent time in any other major city. Don't let that bright rectangular thing in the living room get you all worked up about the dangers of the world. It's all good, and there's no substitute for letting your kid just get out there and live it. Everything teaches, and kids are either bright, or they aren't....so there's no sense getting worked up about the horrors of public transportation.

As I say, convenience and policy and all that are perfectly understandable gripes, but the Metro-As-Gomorrah thing just doesn't hold up. The same old advices and safeguards that have been around forever will work just as well as they always did (don't put name on backpack, buddy system, sit upfront somewhere, etc.)

See you on the bus...

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
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FreedomFromSnark...

the buddy system only works if you have a buddy to buddy with...

failing that. there will either be a lot more cars on the roads or a lot of moms who suddenly acquire Orca cards

Posted 1 year ago #
socamr
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JoB,

I get your concern, but all those kids on the bus - they know each other. Many of them are heading to the same school. WE don't need to pair them up with a buddy - our kids are perfectly capable of recognizing someone that they attend school with and sitting near them.

And with a handful of adults riding the Metro bus, I would place a large bet that there is a lot less bullying on a Metro bus than a yellow school bus....

Best of luck!

Posted 1 year ago #
dobro
Member Profile

**News Flash** There are bad people in the world! There are also good people in the world. It has always been this way and its not going to change. The best way to help your kids learn how to deal with the varying types of people is to let them see and experience such. This is going to happen sooner or later whether you like it or not. Talk to them.

The best idea was upthread. Ride with your kids the first few days and teach them how to observe and consider. Teach them to talk to the bus driver and become known so they'll be noticed. And I'm sure its true that other kids will be going to the same school. Meet them and talk to them. Get out of your bubble.

I feel sorry for kids nowadays that are raised with fear. I'm glad my parents trusted me to be able to take care of myself. It can work out fine.

Posted 1 year ago #
karen
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For me, the argument isn't about whether my child will be safe or not. It's about my right as a parent to determine the risks that I want my child to take.

Legally, my child has to go to school. We live too far to walk so that means either a bus, car pool or me driving. For our family, the school bus is the best option. I have ridden the Metro buses with my children and when they are older, I will let them ride on their own, but that is MY choice. I resent the school district making that choice for me.

Posted 1 year ago #
The Velvet Bulldog
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A quick "flip side" story: for a number of years I rode the #37 on Alki to work. There was a kid of maybe 10-ish with a SERIOUS hyperactivity disorder. We absolutely dreaded his getting on the bus. He would be screechy, jump around, go to the back of the bus and open all the windows on rainy days and generally make life miserable for the rest of the riders. The Driver of course, never got involved so the rest of us had to deal with this kid as he ignored people asking/telling him to settle down.

It's not the adults I'm worried about. ;-)

Posted 1 year ago #
Que
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Difficult people do come in all ages don't they? And we are all in this together.

Posted 1 year ago #
AlkiCabCompany
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I am fortunate that I can take my son to school, so for me it's not an issue. I kinda just wanted to let other people know this was happening. So if you are a parent, you are aware, and if you are a bus rider, maybe you can keep your eye out for these little ones.

When I was in 5th grade I thought I was so big and prolly thought I would be fine riding the bus but now it's a different perspective as a parent. And here I am having another child. And yep, being a parent brings lots of worry...but the joy they bring makes up for it all :)

I wish I could ride my son on the Pedicab or better yet have him ride his bike with me. But there is a monster hill to get up. We will probably ride our bikes a few times (when the weather is good) to school and just walk up that hill, just for fun. And slowly but surely I will let him do more and more stuff in the big world as my instincts see fit.

Posted 1 year ago #
JoB
Member Profile

Karen...

you have a valid point.

if schools are going to be in the school transportation business
they should provide a school bus.

if not..
they should send kids to the nearest school so they can walk

giving kids an orca card
which can be used for more than going directly to school and back
is not a great idea

Posted 1 year ago #
ghar72
Member Profile

Not taking sides either way in this discussion b/c I see both points of view...but have people seen or heard of the Free Range Mom? Here's her blog:
http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/

She became known when she allowed her 9-year-old son ride the NYC subway from Bloomingdale's to their home, with a map, metro card, $20 for emergencies, and quarters for the phone. She did this b/c her son had been asking her to take him someplace and let him find his way home. He made it home just fine, but she became known as "America's Worst Mom."

Her belief is that we need to loosen the reins on our kids, let them have real-world experiences, PLAY.

Just another perspective for folks. She has some interesting stats on the decrease in crime.

Parenting is such a personal subject and so incredibly easy to judge others on. I have young kids, preschool age and under, so riding the bus solo isn't on my radar yet. But I feel for you parents who have to deal this. Good luck!

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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Karen,

At least on a Metro bus there is usually more than one adult. On a school bus there is one adult only, the bus driver.

Honest to gawd, I do not understand this fear. But I will not make fun of it, any longer, either!

Ride happy, my friends!

Posted 1 year ago #
herongrrrl
Member Profile

You know, to me it's really not so much about my kid taking a bus alone. That is something she'll have to learn to do. It's more the fact that it takes an hour and three bus routes to get from our house to school, and most of that time is waiting for the next bus to come. Honestly, if that was your commute to your place of work, would you take the bus? A dedicated school bus would take less than half that time, and I know that in a three block radius we have at least four kids who will be attending Madison next year. It seems to me that the school district could compromise on this somewhat; for some students, who have a more direct one-route Metro trip from home to school, provide an orca card. For others, provide a district bus. I know they do this already for some of the kids who live further away from Madison. Just because we live closer doesn't mean the bus routes and geography make it easy to get there without district transportation.

Posted 1 year ago #
Gina
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Metro has a bus rack on the front of the bus, could load bike on bus, and unload at 45th and Admiral stop. When I get on the bus at that stop there usually is a Madison bound kid or two unloading their bike.

And going home, it is all downhill! Whee!

Posted 1 year ago #
Jiggers
Member Profile

Excercize is good for these kids hitting their teens soon. A lot of them need to walk and most of them are vastly overweight before they've become teens. Besides, Alki is a nicer hood to walk in. I wouldn't worry about it if you taught your kid what's right and wrong. Think of it as a benefit to your kids health.

Posted 1 year ago #
Curtissimo
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amazing how many jerks with no children bother posting on here... the amount of pedophiles, sickos, etc. out there now is staggering. in the face of that, the fact that the Seattle School district tries to squeeze savings out of services and the safety of our children while continuing to waste uncounted hundreds of thousands of dollars each year on waste and fraud is deplorable.

Posted 1 year ago #
Genesee Hill
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Jerks with no children. I guess we have no business posting here. I was never a child. I was born a jerk(y) adult.

Very sorry, Curtissimo, very sorry.

Posted 1 year ago #
JanS
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Curtissimo..those "jerks with no children" still pay property taxes if they own a home...they still contribute to the education of the kids of the jerks WITH children..so back off and chill out. Now, read the rules...no name calling. We are all civil adults here, supposedly. Let's show some educated class, OK?

Posted 1 year ago #
Curtissimo
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It is funny how people with no children always are the first to jump out and offer parenting advice. You all proved that.

Why are you even posting on this thread if you don't have anything productive to offer? Is that in accordance with the rules?

For people with children, this is a serious topic and you haven't added to it.

If you are concerned about school expenses, then you should be concerned about the waste and fraud that goes on in the district, not criticizing parents for being concerned about cuts being taking which will affect our children's safety.

Posted 1 year ago #