Monroe Public Schools
2010-2011
Bus Run Information
To view the bus routes click on a school name to the right.
Click here for the 2010-2011 School & Bus Start/End Times
Monroe Public Schools
School Bus Information
2010 - 2011
Important information about buses, routes and stops
MPS Tiers
There are three (3) Home-to-School (HTS) tiers
Tier 1 – Masuk High School and St. Jude School (separate buses)
Tier 2 – Jockey Hollow School and Chalk Hill School (Grade 6-8 together), and Monroe Elementary School (separate from grades 6-8)
Tier 3 – Fawn Hollow Elementary and Stepney Elementary Schools (separate buses)
Kindergarten transportation
o AM Kindergartners are picked up with other elementary school students in grades 1-5
o AM Kindergarten students, at mid-day, are transported to their home and must be met by a parent/guardian, or designated responsible adult
o PM Kindergarten students transported on mid-day runs are picked up at their home
o PM Kindergarten students are transported to their neighborhood stops with other grade 1-5 students
Bus Safety – Updates for 2010-11
Digital Video and Sound Recording
The Monroe Public Schools have added digital cameras on all buses and vans. There are 3 cameras on each vehicle; 1 mounted in front with viewing towards the back of the bus, 1 mounted on the back with viewing toward the front and 1 mounted to record oncoming traffic. All cameras record in color with digital sound. Recordings can be maintained for a 30-day timeframe.
Bus Locating and Tracking Software
First Student has added locating and tracking devices on all buses and vans. The system allows the company and administration to monitor the location of each vehicle. The system records the bus speed, and notes every stop. It also records the arrival time at each bus stop. If a bus breaks down or has any problem it is easier to locate the vehicle’s position within the town. The district is able to track where every bus is at every minute.
Bus Route Development
For district-wide schools (Chalk Hill, Jockey Hollow, St Jude, and Masuk), Monroe buses must pickup students from all of the town’s 25 square miles. The grade K-5 schools (Fawn Hollow, Monroe Elementary and Stepney Elementary)each serve approximately one-third of the town or about 8 square miles per school.
To plan for the 2010-2011 school year, First Student provided a national consultant with 40-years of experience in transportation planning to develop safe and efficient routing for the Monroe schools.
1. All routes were developed by hand with every student’s address, school-by-school, noted on large town maps. The transportation planner then created routes to serve each school. This work was done in consultation with the bus company local manager and local dispatcher, both very familiar with Monroe roads, traffic patterns, and both experienced bus drivers.
2. Monroe’s drivers are First Student employees. Each driver holds a special license and undergoes annual safety and driver training.
3. After the routes are driven in a school bus, they are confirmed.
4. The final part of the route development process is to enter the routes into the transportation software program and to print and publish the routes.
With this attention to detail and the need to stabilize routes, there will be no changes made to bus routes for the first 6-weeks of school unless there is a safety issue.
5. Routes are published on the district website, the Monroe Courier and Voices. Students should be at their stop 10-minutes in advance of the estimated arrival for the first few days of school. Thereafter, the company asks students be at their bus stop 5-minutes prior to the established arrival time.
6. In case of an emergency, it is essential for the administration to know which students are riding on each school bus. Students are assigned one bus to ride to school and one bus home.
7. House stops, other than those provided for mid-day kindergarten runs, are selected for a variety of reasons.
o Roads/highways that students cannot walk alongside. These have been determined in cooperation with the Monroe Police Department. Examples include Elm Street, Routes 25, 110, 111, Hammertown Road and Hattertown Road as well as some specific sections of other roadways.
o House stops are also provided for some students with significant medical needs. These stops require medical documentation similar to what an adult must provide to obtain a handicap parking permit.
o All changes to routes and/or bus stops must be approved by the central administration.
Daycare Service
· Parents/ Guardians were previously notified through school listserv and backpack notices that we can no longer provide service to daycares or tutoring centers located outside of a school’s transportation district. Daycares were also notified of this change. Any daycares located within the transportation district for a school will be included in a bus route for that school.
Six-to-Six Magnet School
For 2010-2011 the Monroe Public Schools will share transportation to the Six-to-Six Magnet School with the Trumbull Public Schools. The Monroe Public Schools have a long-standing relationship with Trumbull and they have agreed to include our students with the 4-buses that they run to the magnet school. Monroe will use Trumbull’s cluster pick-up and drop-off stop located at the commuter parking lot at Route 25 and 111.
Monroe Public Schools
To view the bus routes click on a school name to the right.
Transportation
(203) 452-2860 option 5
First Student Bus Company EMERGENCY ONLY - (203) 452-0103