A tall fourth grade student in a bright blue hoodie is the first pick-up of the morning for Morgan School’s walking school bus on a recent Tuesday morning at 8 a.m. sharp.
“There’s AJ,” says paraprofessional Marion Harris from a block away, waving at the student who waited on the corner of Maple and Sargeant for the adult staff to arrive. “He’s almost always the first one here,” she explains to a newcomer to the route.
AJ is one of 12 students who consistently “rides” Morgan’s walking school bus, a pre-determined route to school that students and staff walk together each morning. Usually, three adults meet at a side door at Morgan and then walk to the first stop on Maple Street together. On this particular morning, a group of five staff members participate in the walk, soaking in the nice fall weather.
Counselor Jessica Aharon takes the lead organizing the staff members each week, but it’s Ms. Harris who sets the pace for the walkers and keeps the group on track on this walk. She’s the first to greet AJ at the top of the hill, where more students join at the first stop. The youngest participant, preschool student Arya Rivera, soon arrives, running to hold Ms. Harris’s hand for the walk.
“I like to walk with my teachers,” Arya says when asked what she likes about the walking school bus. Art teacher Caroline Lander and physical education teacher Nicholas Patierne are both regulars on the walk, so every student on the “bus” can spend time with teachers they already know from their classes.
For other students, it’s a way to set the tone for the day. Fourth grade student Zaniyah Perez, clad in a spare neon safety vest, gleefully takes a turn holding the “SLOW” sign that Ms. Aharon wields at crosswalks to direct traffic. Zaniyah’s energy—jumping up and down, waving at friends, asking questions—is appreciated by adults on the walk.
“It really wakes you up in the morning and sets a good tone,” says Ms. Aharon. Students walk with adults in clusters of twos and threes, chatting and enjoying the sights of the canals, sidewalk murals, and—for at least one student—the cars and trucks that go by. Wodlen Novembre, a first grade student, excitedly points out a dump truck on this recent Tuesday morning walk.
“He’s our car and truck expert,” explains Ms. Aharon. “Any time something cool drives by, he’s the first to spot it.”
Further along the route at Holyoke-Chicopee Headstart, a few more students join the walk as their siblings are dropped off at daycare. While waiting on the corner for a student to arrive, the group discusses owls, Halloween, and what’s planned at school that day. The benefits of the walking school bus are numerous: Social time for students and staff, a safe walk to school, and supporting excellent attendance by arriving on time, ready to learn, every day.
“I like that I get to school on time,” AJ says. “My dad tells me when it’s time to wait for the walking school bus, and then I join the walk every day and arrive on time.” When AJ expresses some hesitation about walking to school in the forecasted rain the next day, staff members are quick to assure him: They’ll be ready with ponchos for everyone.
What’s next for the program? Staff hope to see it grow, both at Morgan and other HPS schools. There are other neighborhoods in Holyoke that could benefit from such a structured walk to school, Ms. Aharon explains.
When the “bus” arrives at school at 8:30, the students stick together, continuing their conversations as they walk past the playground and into the same sidedoor the staff departed from earlier that morning. Although the students are nearly all in different classes, grades, and programs during the school day, they’ll come together again tomorrow morning—and for nearly 120 more walks this school year.
The walking school bus at Morgan was founded midway through the 2023-24 school year by FACE coordinator Rey Figueroa (now FACE coordinator at Peck School) in partnership with Safe Routes to School. This is the program’s third school year. Today, October 8, also marks National Walk and Roll to School Day—a holiday meant to highlight the social, environmental, and health benefits of walking to school.