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Northridge High School • 2901 Northridge Road • Tuscaloosa, Al• 35406
December 14, 2012 • Volume 10 • Issue 4
Buses key to some students’ success Alex Hauser Editor-in-Chief
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fter seven and a half hours of school, several more hours of homework and having to wake up at the break of dawn to get to school by 8:00 a. m, students suffer from a lack of sleep. But students who ride buses, lose another hour, the bus often picks them up as early as 7:00 a.m. KeAmbria Washington, senior, said she is picked up around 6:52 a.m. and gets to school around 7:07 a.m. “We have to stay on the bus until 7:15,” she said. “We are always the first bus, and it’s very empty in the lunchroom when we’re [allowed in],” she said. Jimmy Boone, the Director of Transportation, said there is not a law on the time buses can drop off students. “We do have local policies,” he said. “As a rule we try not to drop off high school students before 7:15 a.m. Since all students begin breakfast at 7:30 a.m., students only have up to 15 minutes to wait before they can go to breakfast.” Senior DeAnthony Mays, who rides bus 27, said his bus is overcrowded. “You have a hard time trying to find a seat when there are so many people,” he said. “And then you have that person that is saving a seat for someone or just wants to sit by themselves.” Mays said many people that ride his bus could drive and that is part of the overcrowding problem. “If you are a licensed driver and have a car, please drive to school, it will open up seats for the people who don’t have that option,” he said. The bus routes are created using a computer program called Edulog. During the summer a complete listing of the students are placed on a map, and the transportation department assigns each student a bus. “We try to make a distance of no more than four blocks to a stop for high school students. We examine how the students get to the stops for safety issues. For example, no crossing of four lane roads [or] railroad tracks,” Boone said. The process of creating bus routes is “very difficult” because not every student rides a bus, but each one eligible is assigned. “This year we hope to begin a process of including a request to ride a bus as a part of spring registration. If we can only identify students who want transportation, it will help us do a better job of creating routes,” he said.
The transportation system transports over 5,000 students with 93 buses, 73 of them running double routes. Charles Anthony, assistant principal, said, for the size, the bus system is very effective. “The drivers do a tremendous job in transporting students to and from school on a daily basis. They communicate problems cer Dan a l they are experiencing on the bus l ja Kan to me, and we work together to by: t r A try to correct the problem,” he said. “Mr. Boone often sends emails and will sometimes stop by the school to see if there are any problems with the buses and find out from us what they can do to better serve our needs here at Northridge.” Anthony said the only time the buses arrive late is when there are a number of drivers out on a given day, and the transportation department always informs the school when they are going to be late. “Some days, there are just not enough substitute drivers to cover all of the routes where drivers are absent,” he said. Boone said they are currently recruiting substitute drivers. “On occasion we have to bring in other buses to assist with routes because of a shortage of drivers. We regret having to do this but strive to complete the routes,” he said. Synteria Pearson, senior, said her bus driver really cares about the students on his bus. “He talks to you when you get on and off the bus, and he knows all of his students by name. He’ll also wait a couple of minutes for you when you’re late,” she said. Boone said the transportation department is a “vital component to education.” “If students cannot get to school, they cannot get an education. Without the bus, many students would not be able to get to school,” he said. “A year ago I received a phone call from a young lady who had been in a lot trouble in high school, and nearly Is your bus overcrowded? dropped out. After working on the problems with the bus, she started attending school every day. She called Yes:38 No:14 me to tell me she had just graduated from the University of Alabama, and told me she would not have been Does you bus arrive before 7:15? there without the school bus,” he said.
the wheels on the
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No:36 Compiled by: Kelly Burnham
Tablets become option to replace textbooks next year tensive writing assignments, such as essays, would not be suitable for such devices. Elizabeth Tiley, guidance counselor, said she is not aware of the tablet idea but thinks The board is considering implementation it has many positive and negative effects. of tablets in place of textbooks next year. “It might be beneficial for students in Chris Jenks, Coordinator of Instructionthis fast pace modern world and better al Technology, said the board is currently prepare them for evaluating various what’s coming up in options to transition college,” she said. toward more digital Tiley said stulearning opportunidents could downties. I like to have something tangible in load many programs “At the direction my hands, something I can shove and software for of Superintendent Dr. papers into. learning purposes Paul McKendrick, we but many students are investigating on will most likely how to implement a Katherine McCray, sophomore play games such as ‘one-to-one’ initiative solitaire instead of [which would give] working in class. one device [to each] student,” Jenks said. “Every student would most likely reHe said that the devices the board impleceive a tablet, but we could run into the ments do not necessarily need to be tablets. same problem as this year,” Tiley said. “The critical part to remember is that the “Many textbooks won’t be returned at focus should not be on the device but on the end of the year, and we would run short the students’ needs,” Jenks said. of devices,” she said. He said tablets will be most promising Mary Margaret Murdock, sophomore, for consuming reading content, notes and was one of seven students selected from enhancing an educational environment. InRabisa Khan Copy Editor
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the tenth grade to be part of a meeting with the board members. “[The board] talked about replacing textbooks with tablets, but I just don’t think that’s a good idea at all.” Murdock said she thinks it is stupid because the school is not even meeting AYP, and people are more worried about getting tablets. Katherine McCray, sophomore, said she also prefers textbooks. “I like to have something tangible in my hands, something I can shove papers into,” McCray said. McCray said she is also worried about the financial aspect of this venture. “If we can’t even afford textbooks for every student, how are we supposed to fund eBooks for every student?” McCray said. Jenks said the school board has positioned the school system on sound financial footing. “If the board decides this plan is the correct direction, local funds will be available to make it a reality,” he said. Additionally, McCray said she believes there are too many complications and variables that would obstruct the success of
Photo by: Alex Hauser
Plugged in:Tyesha Pinnock, sophomore, uses her iPad during class. “I use it to research topics in class and to help with school work or homework,” she said. tablets in the classroom. “Tablets could be lost or stolen, and they require charging,” McCray said. “People could easily get away with doing nothing.” If done properly with focus on professional teacher development, network and infrastructure preparation and curriculum, Jenks said, “a device deployment like this could be transformative.”
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