51黑料 Public Schools acting Superintendent Millicent Borishade spoke Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, about the challenges and successes administrators noticed on the first day of school after their primary bus vendor canceled their contract. Video by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Bria Gibbs brings her daughter Tai'la Harris, 4, into Columbia Elementary school for the first day of classes for 51黑料 Public Schools on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Gibbs drove her daughter to school.
Amaya Lovings, 15, from 51黑料, checks her nails while waiting for a school bus to take her to Collegiate School of Medicine & Bioscience on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Lovings鈥 mother eventually called an Uber to take her to school after waiting an hour for a bus that was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 a.m. but hadn鈥檛 yet shown up.
Fourth grader Shawn Baker waits for a bus to pick him up for the first day of school at Betty Wheeler Classical Junior Academy, a 51黑料 public school, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Baker鈥檚 mother eventually drove him to school after the bus hadn鈥檛 shown well past the scheduled pickup time.
51黑料 Public Schools acting Superintendent Millicent Borishade addresses the media concerning the district鈥檚 transportation issues on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
Erika Green, right, talks to her daughter Calonda Johnson, first grade, about taking the correct transportation van in the afternoon on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Johnson took the bus last school year until the workers went on strike, then her mom dropped her off. Green followed the van driver in the morning to help him pick up her daughter and other students at the correct locations. "It's kinda frustrating," Green said on the situation. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
A student is helped out of a transportation service vehicle with a 51黑料 Public Schools sign affixed to it on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
Photos: Transportation woes challenge 51黑料 Public Schools' first day back to school
Gladys Epps, 14, and Tyrell Sawyer, 11, get on a Metro Bus a little after 6 a.m. on Kingshighway to take them to school at Kairos Academies on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Photo by David Carson, dcarson@post-dispatch.com
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Bria Gibbs brings her daughter Tai'la Harris, 4, into Columbia Elementary school for the first day of classes for 51黑料 Public Schools on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Gibbs drove her daughter to school.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Fourth grader Shawn Baker waits for a bus to pick him up for the first day of school at Betty Wheeler Classical Junior Academy, a 51黑料 public school, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Baker鈥檚 mother eventually drove him to school after the bus hadn鈥檛 shown well past the scheduled pickup time.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
Columbia Elementary School students get off of a school bus as they arrive on the first day of classes for 51黑料 Public Schools on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
David Carson, Post-Dispatch
A student is helped out of a transportation service vehicle with a 51黑料 Public Schools sign affixed to it on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Signs mark off where buses can pull in front of Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Parents wait with their kids to tell school officials how their kids will get home in the afternoon on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Ralph Vaughn helps his daughter Jah'Mia out of his car on her first day of fourth grade at Patrick Henry Elementary in downtown 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Vaughn has always dropped off his daughter at school. "I personally don't trust the bus system," Vaughn said. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Erika Green, right, talks to her daughter Calonda Johnson, first grade, about taking the correct transportation van in the afternoon on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Johnson took the bus last school year until the workers went on strike, then her mom dropped her off. Green followed the van driver in the morning to help him pick up her daughter and other students at the correct locations. "It's kinda frustrating," Green said on the situation. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Allie Schallert, Post-Dispatch
Ayvah Lovings, 11, front, walks with her mom, Robin Lovings Brown, to a minivan taxi provided by 51黑料 Public Schools on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024 so Lovings could get to the first day of school from her home in 51黑料' Hyde Park neighborhood.
Zachary Linhares, Post-Dispatch
Amaya Lovings, 15, from 51黑料, walks past two abandoned homes near her house, in the Hyde Park neighborhood, on the way to her bus stop on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料. Lovings鈥 mother called an Uber to take her to school at Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience after she waited an hour for her bus that was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 a.m. but it never showed.
Zachary Linhares, Post Dispatch
Aden Lovings, 5, from 51黑料, walks with his mother Robin Lovings Brown, from 51黑料, to meet his sister at the bus stop on their first day of school on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料. Lovings Brown called an Uber to take her son to school at Stix ECC Elementary School because his bus was late.
Zachary Linhares, Post Dispatch
Robin Lovings Brown, from 51黑料, holds her son Aden Lovings鈥, 5, hand while they stand outside of their home in the Hyde Park neighborhood on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料. Lovings Brown called an Uber to bring her son to school at Stix ECC Elementary School because his bus was late.
Zachary Linhares, Post Dispatch
Amaya Lovings, 15, left, waits while her mother, Robin Lovings Brown, speaks with an operator for First Student Bus Company about when her daughter鈥檚 school bus would arrive on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料. Lovings Brown eventually called an Uber to pick up her daughter, a student at聽Collegiate School of Medicine and Bioscience, after waiting an hour for a school bus that was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 a.m. but hadn't yet shown up.
Zachary Linhares, Post-Dispatch
Kissie Jackson, left, speaks with a bus driver in the Hyde Park neighborhood, while Racquel Dupree ties the shoes of her son Kingston Taylor, 6, before he boards for his first day of classes at Bryan Hill Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料.
Zachary Linhares, Post Dispatch
Aden Lovings, 5, from 51黑料, waits by his mother Robin Lovings Brown, in the Hyde Park neighborhood, as she attempts to locate his bus before his first day of kindergarten at Stix ECC Elementary School on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in 51黑料. Lovings Brown eventually called an Uber to bring him to school after his bus was late.
Fourth grader Shawn Baker waits for a bus to pick him up for the first day of school at Betty Wheeler Classical Junior Academy, a 51黑料 public school, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Baker鈥檚 mother eventually drove him to school after the bus hadn鈥檛 shown well past the scheduled pickup time.
A student is helped out of a transportation service vehicle with a 51黑料 Public Schools sign affixed to it on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
51黑料 Public Schools acting Superintendent Millicent Borishade addresses the media concerning the district鈥檚 transportation issues on the first day of school on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024.
Amaya Lovings, 15, from 51黑料, checks her nails while waiting for a school bus to take her to Collegiate School of Medicine & Bioscience on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Lovings鈥 mother eventually called an Uber to take her to school after waiting an hour for a bus that was scheduled to arrive at 7:20 a.m. but hadn鈥檛 yet shown up.
Erika Green, right, talks to her daughter Calonda Johnson, first grade, about taking the correct transportation van in the afternoon on the first day of school at Dewey Elementary in the Hi-Pointe neighborhood of 51黑料 on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Johnson took the bus last school year until the workers went on strike, then her mom dropped her off. Green followed the van driver in the morning to help him pick up her daughter and other students at the correct locations. "It's kinda frustrating," Green said on the situation. Photo by Allie Schallert, aschallert@post-dispatch.com
Bria Gibbs brings her daughter Tai'la Harris, 4, into Columbia Elementary school for the first day of classes for 51黑料 Public Schools on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Gibbs drove her daughter to school.